| After SDNY Jury Convicted Berry of
2000 Bronx Murder Judge Nathan Remains On
Case
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
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SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Sept 27 -- Near 751 East 161st
Street in the South Bronx on
June 21, 2000, Caprice Jones
was shot and
killed.
On January
30, 2020 - twenty years later
- a sealed indictment was
signed by U.S. District Court
for the Southern District of
New York Magistrate Judge
James L. Cott, for the arrest
of Frank Lopez and Ralph Berry
on capital murder charges for
the death of Caprice Jones, in
connection with both men's
alleged crack sales.
On February
7 in Texas, Frank Lopez was
arrested. And four full weeks
later on March 4, Frank Lopez
was presented and arraigned in
SDNY Magistrates Court, with
Inner City Press the only
media present.
Lopez was
brought in by U.S. Marshals;
his assigned counsel said he
has high blood pressure and
acid reflux. He also displayed
heavy tattoos.
Assistant
US Attorney Domenic Gentile
said the government sought
detention, in which Lopez'
assigned counsel consented
without prejudice.
On October
27, Judge Alison J. Nathan
held a proceeding with Lopez
and his co-defendant Ralph
Berry on the line. Judge
Nathan told AUSA Gentile to
get Main Justice's capital
decision within 30 days.
He replied
that they would not give a
date, but were confident it
would be in a month. Judge
Nathan relied on that
confidence, and set the next
conference for December 9 at
11 am. Inner City Press again
called in.
Judge
Nathan set a trial date, for
September 13, 2021, with both
defendants still in detention.
There was talk of
redacting names of possible
witnesses, because they are
just that: possible witnesses.
On August 16,
2021 - with the trial pushed
back to September 21 - the US
filed a motion in limine to
"permit it to introduce at
trial evidence of other bad
acts committed by Berry" --
selling crack in the McKinley
Housing Development and a 1998
murder for hire conspiracy."
On September 28,
2021 "Berry was found guilty
by a unanimous Manhattan jury
for the murder of Caprice
Jones in the vicinity of 751
East 161 Street, Bronx, New
York. Berry will be
sentenced before the Honorable
U.S. District Judge Alison J.
Nathan, who presided over the
jury trial."
Jump cut a
year forward to September 27,
2022 - Judge Nathan has been
elevated to the Second Circuit
Court of Appeals and has
transferred cases to other
District Judges. But not this
one: On September 27 she
issued as order on Berry, as
Circuit Judge Sitting by
Designation (as Judges Richard
J. Sullivan and Denny Chin
do), noting that while Berry
filed papers for himself, he
is represented by counsel, who
has been given until September
30 to indicate if he will file
an application for the relief
Berry seeks. Watch this site.
The case
remains US v. Berry, 20-cr-84
(Nathan).
***
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