| For 92 Kilos of Coke 2 Men
Freed But Colombian Girlfriend Jailed While
Wife Works For Dominican Ministry
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
The
Times (UK) Honduras
- The
Source
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Nov 27 – Three people
were in a car driving to New
York from Miami with 92
kilograms of cocaine worth
$2.7 million in the car, U.S.
District Court for the
Southern District of New York
Magistrate Judge Robert W.
Lehrburger was told on
November 27, Thanksgiving
Eve. First
Judge Lehrburger heard the
arguments of David Palma and
the younger Kevin Palma, 23,
described as his nephew. Both
are US citizens with links to
the Dominican
Republic.
The Assistant US Attorney
argued that one or both might
try to fly to Santo Domingo
since they have face a ten
year mandatory
minimum.
But Judge Lehrburger freed
both on both, with David Palma
to return to the 24 security
officers at the US Attorney's
Office with his passport on
Thanksgiving or face a warrant
for his
arrest.
David Palma's girlfriend Ms.
Sanchez, a citizen of
Colombia, did not fare so
well. She was described as
without ties to the
community. Judge
Lehrburger asked, Does she
live with David
Palma? No, was the
answer, she rents a room in
Queens where she works in a
hookah bar from 9pm to 5 am
three nights a
week. In fact
David Palma's $100,000 bond,
his Federal Defender Jonathan
A. Marvinny said, is going to
be signed by his wife,
described as having a well
paying job with "the Dominican
Embassy."
The Dominican Embassy is in
Washington; in New York is the
consulate and the Dominican
Mission to the UN, where
Francis Lorenzo who pled
guilty to UN bribery worked as
Deputy Permanant
Representative.
After taking a break in the
Magistrate Court's robing room
Judge Lehrburger returned to
the bench and said, I'm sorry
Ms. Sanchez but you have not
rebutted the
presumption.
All three faced a presumption
for detention, but David and
Kevin Palma were released.
Beyond gender, seemingly the
key difference was citizenship
status, as impacts risk of
flight. One assumes the
overall case is called US v.
Palma, et al - but the docket
number given did not show up
in the PACER database even an
hour after the proceeding.
Inner City Press will have
more on all this.
***
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