United States v. Vasquez

258 F.R.D. 68, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42770, 2009 WL 1449036
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedMay 20, 2009
DocketNo. 03-CR-851 (ADS)
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 258 F.R.D. 68 (United States v. Vasquez) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.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. Vasquez, 258 F.R.D. 68, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42770, 2009 WL 1449036 (E.D.N.Y. 2009).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER

SPATT, District Judge.

Defendant Ledwin Castro (“Castro”) has moved for an order directing the Government to provide: (1) the bases for FBI Special Agent Reynaldo Tariche’s anticipated expert testimony; (2) the identities of individuals related to three homicides allegedly committed pursuant to the charged racketeering enterprise; and (3) any additional documents that the Government intends to use in its case-in-chief at least 30 days prior to trial. Also pending before the Court are motions by the Government and Nassau County, a non-party in this action, to quash a subpoena seeking the production of documents pertaining to the above-mentioned homicides.

I. BACKGROUND

Castro and his co-Defendant David Vasquez (“Vasquez”) (collectively “the Defendants”) are charged with conspiracy to commit assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering activity, 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(6), assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering activity, 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(3), and the discharge of a firearm during a crime of violence, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1). These charges stem from the Defendants’ alleged participation in two drive-by shootings in Nassau County on June 18, 2003.

A. The Drive-By Shootings

The Defendants are both admitted members of MS-13, a nationwide criminal gang organized into local subunits referred to as “cliques.” Vasquez was a member of a Long Island clique headed by Castro known as the Freeport Locos Salvatruchas. The evidence at the first trial showed that, on the night of the shootings, the Defendants and two other MS-13 gang members, Ralph Admettre and Nieves Argueta, drove to a laundromat in Hempstead to search for members of SWP, a rival gang. From a van parked in a gas station parking lot across the street, Vasquez opened fire on a crowd outside the laundromat, wounding Ricardo Ramirez and Douglas Sorto.

Less than an hour later, the Defendants, Admettre and Nieves traveled to a delicatessen in Freeport where they encountered a group of young black men that they believed to be members of the Bloods, another rival gang. At Vasquez’s urging, Nieves shot Carlton Alexander seven times in the back. Despite being struck by multiple gunshots, Alexander survived. The Defendants, Ad-mettre and Nieves were arrested by the Nassau County Police Department approximately one month after the shootings.

B. The Indictment and Trial

On June 23, 2005, a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment against six MS-13 members including, among others, the Defendants, Admettre and Nieves. Prior to trial, United States District Judge Leonard Wexler severed the charges against Castro and Vasquez from the charges against several of their co-Defendants. The Defendants’ remaining co-defendants pleaded guilty to assault and Admettre pleaded to the conspiracy charge and to using a firearm during a crime of violence. However, Castro and Vasquez proceeded to trial on July 19, 2005.

At the trial, the Government called Hector Alicea, an officer with the New York State Police, to provide expert testimony with regard to MS-13. In particular, Alicea testified 'to MS-13’s history, structure, and modes of communication. The Government also called the three shooting victims, Admettre, and another co-defendant to testify against the Defendants. In addition, the Government offered into evidence telephone records, the gun used in the shootings, ballistics reports, and the Defendants’ posLarrest confessions. [71]*71On July 26, 2005, a jury found both of the Defendants guilty on all counts.

C. The Decision of the Second Circuit

On October 6, 2008, the Second Circuit vacated the Defendants’ convictions and remanded the case to the District Court finding that Alicea’s testimony violated the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment and Fed.R.Evid. 703 because Alicea had taken out of court statements obtained from MS-13 members during custodial interrogations and conveyed the substance of those statements to the jury. United States v. Mejia, 545 F.3d 179, 199 (2d Cir.2008). The Court concluded that, under the circumstances, Alicea was “simply summarizing an investigation by others that [was] not part of the record and presenting it in the guise of an expert opinion.” Id. (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). The Court found that admitting Alicea’s testimony was not harmless error because his testimony beared heavily on the material issues of whether MS-13 was an enterprise and whether the gang had engaged in acts and threats of murder. Id. at 200.

D. The Re-Trial of the Defendants

At the re-trial, the Government will be required to prove, among other things, that MS-13 was a racketeering enterprise within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 1959(b)(1) and 18 U.S.C. § 1961(1). In particular, the Government will have to show that MS-13 was involved in acts and threats of murder. To that end, the Government intends to prove that MS-13 members planned and carried out the homicides of Damian Corrente, Jaime Figueroa, and Dagoberto Ramos, prior to committing the assaults charged in this case. In order to establish that MS-13 is a racketeering enterprise, the Government will also rely, at least in part, on the expert testimony of FBI Special Agent Reynaldo Tariche.

II. DISCUSSION

A. The Motions to Quash

Fed.R.Crim.P. 17(c)(1) provides, in pertinent part, that a “subpoena may order the witness to produce any books, papers, documents, data, or other objects the subpoena designates.” Under Rule 17(c)(2), courts enjoy the discretion to quash or modify a subpoena where “compliance would be unreasonable or oppressive.”

On April 3, 2009, counsel for Castro served a subpoena on the Nassau County Police Department, seeking any and all records, including witness statements, that pertained to the homicides of Damian Corrente and Jaime Figueroa. At oral argument on these motions, counsel for Castro expanded his request to include any and all records pertaining to the homicide of Dagoberto Ramos. Nassau County has moved to quash that portion of the subpoena which seeks witness statements on the ground that such a request is prohibited by Rule 17(h). Nassau County has also sought to quash that portion of the subpoena which requests documents related to the Corrente homicide on the ground that these materials are protected by the law enforcement privilege.

The Government has moved to quash the subpoena in its entirety. In particular, the Government contends that the subpoena requests privileged information and, in any event, fails to meet the requirements of Rule 17.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
258 F.R.D. 68, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42770, 2009 WL 1449036, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-vasquez-nyed-2009.