| As DOJ
Probes Mount Vernon Police More Press
Questions About Officers In Civil Cases
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
- Guardian
UK - Honduras
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SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Dec 18 – A Federal civil
rights investigation into the
police department in Mount
Vernon, New York, including
for falsification of evidence,
was announced in a December 3
press conference by Damian
Williams, the new US Attorney
for the Southern District of
New York and Kristen
Clarke, Assistant
Attorney General for DOJ's
Civil Rights Division.
Inner City
Press, which has reported on
the SDNY's cases in Mount
Vernon, including a murder
case that after a change of
counsel and ostensibly guilty
plea simply disappeared from
the docket, went to cover the
press conference.
After a
presentation including ways
for the public to have input
into the investigation, Inner
City Press asked US Attorney
Williams, Will this impact
your Office's prosecutions and
even convictions?
Will your Office
treat information from the
MVPD differently during the
pendency of the
investigation?
US Attorney
Williams said that is a
question for another day. Fair
enough. But this may be one of
the days.
A civil
case against the MVPD and
particular officers is coming
to trial, and Inner City Press
is digging into it. Names
officers include Detective
Sergeant Sean Fegan, Detective
Camilo Antonini, PO Robert
Puff, PO Patrick King, and PO
"John" Valente. The complaint
has the shield numbers. Now,
on what SDNY federal cases
have they worked, and what
review is being conducted?
That civil case
is Govan v. City of Mount
Vernon, et al., 19-cv-8830
(Halpern)
Later in
December Inner City Press
identified at least three more
civil cases concerning such
abuses in the MVPD: false
searches of cars and houses,
abuse in detention. The same
names show up again and again.
So what are the SDNY
prosecutors doing to review
their prosecutions and
convictions? Hasn't that
"other day" arrived? What this
site.
Or this one: on
November 24, 2020 Inner City
Press reported Raheem Jones
was charged with aiding and
abetting a murder in Mount
Vernon. He was assigned a
Criminal Justice Act lawyer,
Mark S. Demarco.
On May 17,
2019 U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of New
York Judge Nelson Stephen
Roman relieved DeMarco and
appointed Donna R. Newman as
CJA counsel.
On
November 24, Jones pleaded
guilty to racketeering, and to
the aiding and abetting
murder, with a guidelines
sentence of 300 months or 25
years. Inner City Press
covered the change of plea
proceeding.
During the
proceeding Ms. Newman referred
to an earlier version of the
plea agreement which referred
to Jones as a career offender.
AUSA Andew
Fong Chow quickly pointed out
that was never filed with the
court.
Jones, who
said his first name was Lonzo,
was read his newly-explicit
Brady rights under the Due
Process Protection Act - and
then, as part of this plea,
appeared to waive any Brady
violation.
Ms. Newman
added she was not aware of any
such violations in his
case.
Sentencing was set before
Judge Roman for either
February 25, or March 4, at
10:30 am.
But now on
December 3, 2021, there is
nothing in the docket. The
case is US v. Jones, 15-cr-661
(Roman). We aim to have
more on all this.
***
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