After Bronx Alleged Gang
Leader Ordered Free In SDNY Mag Court
Judge Cote Overrules It
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
BBC
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SDNY COURTHOUSE,
March 6 -- Alleged members of
a Bronx drug gang were
presented and most detained on
March 5 by U.S. District Court
for the Southern District of
New York Magistrate Judge
Kevin N.
Fox.
Tasha Burnett,
for example, while said to be
a church goer and an
entrepreneur, was described by
Assistant US Attorney Thomas
John Wright as having the
gang's name on her bedroom
wall and being captured on
wiretaps trying to get a run.
Judge Fox detained her.
But two of
her co-defendants, including
alleged gang leader Timothy
Wallace and his alleged deputy
Charkeem Payne, were ordered
released by Judge
Fox.
AUSA Wright
immediately spoke an appeal,
saying that District Judge
Denise L. Cote to whom the
case is assigned was still in
the courthouse. Sullivan &
Cromwell represented one of
those freed, and asked when
the appeal would
be.
So did Inner City
Press, the only media in the
SDNY Magistrates Court for
this. The intention to appeal
to Judge Cote was confirmed,
but no time was given. We
reported, We will continue to
follow this. And we did.
First, this
order put on PACER on the
morning of March 6: "ORDER:
Arrests having been made in
this prosecution today, bail
determinations are being made
by Magistrate Judge Fox. It is
hereby ORDERED that any
decision by a Magistrate Judge
to release a defendant over
the Governments objection is
stayed until a bail review
hearing before this Court on
March 6 at 11:00 a.m. in
Courtroom 18B, 500 Pearl
Street. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED
that any defendant who wishes
to appeal a decision by a
Magistrate Judge to detain the
defendant will also be heard
at the same time. IT IS
FURTHER ORDERED that any
detained defendant may forego
the opportunity to appeal the
bail determination tomorrow
without prejudice to a later
application to appeal the
detention decision. as to
Fernando Disla, Edward Abreu,
Alicia Arias, Luis Farias,
Timothy Wallace, Derek
Livingston, Charkeem Payne,
Carol Lane, Tracey Smith,
Herman Stewart, Tasha Burnett,
Tyriss Gwynn, Edgar Montes..
(Signed by Judge Denise L.
Cote on 3/5/2020)(gr)."
Then, not
at 11 am but closer to noon,
the appeal. The standard was
de novo, and AUSA Wright added
facts not adduced the night
before: drug preparation and
sales in Wallace's home on
Gerard Avenue, including one
sale by the mother of his two
children, present in court on
March 6. The Sullivan and
Cromwell lawyer who had not
spoken before Judge Fox the
night before made the
argument, emphasizing for
example that she too has a
digital scale, as a baker.
Judge Cote
asked where Wallace's wife
works. She herself began to
speak, then was directed to do
it through counsel. Elevator
manufacturing company GAR was
the answer.
Judge Cote
found that the defendant poses
a significant risk to the
community, and overturned
Judge Fox, something that
happened again before Judge
Nathan two hours later with
the timing of a promised
appeal to Judge Daniels not
yet know. This case is US v.
Disla, et al, 20-cr-52 (Cote).
***
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