United States v. Robles

828 F. Supp. 2d 626, 2011 WL 5928783
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedNovember 22, 2011
DocketNo. 08 Cr. 1114 (RWS)
StatusPublished

This text of 828 F. Supp. 2d 626 (United States v. Robles) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Robles, 828 F. Supp. 2d 626, 2011 WL 5928783 (S.D.N.Y. 2011).

Opinion

SENTENCING OPINION

SWEET, District Judge.

It is a rare and sad occasion as a judge that I am required by my oath to enforce unjust and ill-advised enactments of . Congress. Today I am asked to do such a thing.

On February 11, 2011, Jose Robles, (“Robles” or the “Defendant”) was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit Hobbs Act robberies, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951, three counts of committing Hobbs Act robberies, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951 & 2, and two counts of brandishing a firearm during those robberies, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A). In plainer terms, Robles and his co-conspirators robbed two Radio Shack stores and one gas station. No one was injured during any of the robberies.

For the reasons set forth below, Robles will be sentenced to 32 years’ imprisonment. Robles’ imprisonment will be followed by 3 years’ supervised release. He will also be required to make full restitution to the victims of his crimes in an amount to be specified, and will be required to pay a special assessment of $600.

[628]*628This period of incarceration is imposed pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1), which requires a seven year mandatory minimum sentence for the brandishing of a firearm during certain crimes and a twenty-five year sentence for brandishing a firearm during a second or subsequent such crime, each to run consecutively, and even if those crimes are charged in the same instrument, as here. This 32-year mandatory minimum is imposed by Congress on all defendants, no matter the circumstances of their crimes, the contexts in which they were committed, or the histories or characteristics of the defendants.

The United States Sentencing Commission has recently released a comprehensive report on statutory mandatory mínimums, including the “stacking” of sentences under § 924(c) that is required here. The Sentencing Commission has called for Congress to re-examine these provision because, as the chair of the Commission stated at the report’s issuance, “the Commission unanimously believes that certain mandatory minimum penalties apply too broadly, are excessively severe, and are applied inconsistently across the country.” Judge Patti B. Saris, “Sentencing Commission Issues Comprehensive Report on Statutory Mandatory Minimum Penalties: Sends Recommendations for Statutory Changes to Congress,” available at http:// www.ussc.gov/Legislative_and_Public_ Affairs/N ewsroom/Press_Releases/ 20111031_Press_Release.pdf.

The instant case illustrates the wisdom of the Sentencing Commissions’ unanimous conclusion. Mandatory mínimums cut with blunt, and here unreasonably severe, force. The sentencing of defendants involves necessarily unique individuals who have committed specific crimes, in particular contexts. It does our justice system a disservice, and our people a profound moral injustice, to sentence individuals arbitrarily to terms that may take their very lives away and subject their families to economic duress without permitting the judge charged with the sentencing to consider the factors Congress itself has deemed appropriate in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). These mandates are overly punitive, without empirical basis, costly, and, above all, a profound moral failing.1

Prior Proceedings

On February 24, 2010, Indictment S108CR1114(RWS) was filed in the Southern District of New York.

Count 1 of that indictment charges that from at least October 2005, through October 2006, in the Southern District of New York and elsewhere, Robles, Luis Celado, a/k/a “Danny,” (“Celado”), and Jose Rodriguez, a/k/a/ “Aneudi,” (“Rodriguez”), and others conspired to rob, as that term is defined in 18 U.S.C. § 1951(b)(1), various businesses engaged in interstate commerce, including Radio Shack stores and a gas station in the Bronx, New York, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951.

Count 2 charges that on October 15, 2005, in the Southern District of New York, Robles, Celado, and one or more others robbed a Radio Shack store in the Bronx, New York, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951 & 2.

Count 3 charges that on November 15, 2005, in the Southern District of New York, Robles, Celado, and one or more others robbed a Radio Shack store in the Bronx, New York, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951 & 2.

Count 4 charges that on October 2, 2006, in the Southern District of New York, Robles, Rodriguez, and one or more others [629]*629robbed two employees while they were transporting the proceeds of the gas station where they worked in the Bronx, New York, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1951 & 2.

Count 5 charges that on October 15, 2005, in the Southern District of New York, Robles and Celado brandished a firearm during the robbery of a Radio Shack store in the Bronx, New York, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(l)(A)(ii) & 2.

Count 6 charges that on November 15, 2005, in the Southern District of New York, Robles and Celado brandished a firearm during the robbery of a Radio Shack store in the Bronx, New York, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(ii), 924(c)(l)(C)(i) & 2.

On February 11, 2011 Robles was found guilty as charged.

On September 10, 2010, Celado allocated to Count 1 only, before the Honorable Theodore H. Katz. His plea was accepted by this Court on October 5, 2010. On October 3, 2011, Celado was sentenced to 40 months’ probation with a special condition of home detention. The case against Rodriguez remains pending.

Robles’ sentencing is currently scheduled for December 5, 2011.

The Sentencing Framework

In accordance with the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005), and the Second Circuit’s decision in United States v. Crosby, 397 F.3d 103 (2d Cir.2005), the sentence to be imposed was reached through consideration of all of the factors identified in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), including the advisory Sentencing Guidelines. Thus, the sentence to be imposed here is the result of the consideration of:

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

United States v. Booker
543 U.S. 220 (Supreme Court, 2004)
Kimbrough v. United States
552 U.S. 85 (Supreme Court, 2007)
United States v. Jerome Crosby
397 F.3d 103 (Second Circuit, 2005)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
828 F. Supp. 2d 626, 2011 WL 5928783, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-robles-nysd-2011.