24 in
Upper
Manhattan Drug
Case Getting
Huge Video Now
Checo Pleads
Guilty in Mag
Court
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Oct 31 – Christopher Santos
and more than a dozen others
have been indicted for a
narcotics conspiracy in Upper
Manhattan.
On
September 15, 2023
co-defendant Mercedes appeared
with only his lawyer before
U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York
Judge Gregory H. Woods.Inner
City Press was there.
Mercedes
had missed a September 6 mass
proceeding at which a schedule
had been set, with Speedy
Trial Act time excluded
through December 12,
2023.
The initial
complain describes drug sales
in front of 2304 Amsterdam
Avenue, near 174th Street.
Jump cut to
February 6, 2024, when Judge
Woods courtroom was full, with
some defendants out on bond in
the gallery, with lawyers, and
others defendants in the jury
box. One defense lawyer got a
big laugh when he pointed to
his client, the foreman in
that good lucking jury.
At the
defense's request, the case
was put over into June. There
is a new NYPD / TARU video, 5
terabytes, that can barely be
seen on the computers in the
MDC. Expect severance - and,
the prosecutors said, plea
bargains.
On July 19,
co-defendant Jawan Mills pled
guilty to Count 1, with
sentencing set for October 16
at 10 am. He was not included
in the superceding indictment
filed on July 18.
On July 30
co-defendant David Glover pled
guilty and was ordered
immediately remanded, with
sentencing set for November 25
at 11 am.
On July 31
co-defendant Christopher
Espinal pled guilty with
sentencing set for November 22
at 3 pm; detention was
continued.
On August 14,
counsel for co-defendant
Caminero wrote in and asking
for 35 months on August 28.
On August 16, the
lead defendant came in, not in
custody, to be arraigned on
the S6 indictment, pleading
not guilty in the run up to
the trial now set for November
4.
On August 21, on
Caminero the US Attorney's
Office wrote in and asked for
70 months, noting "his
attempts to intimidate a
witness through social media
posts."
On August 28,
Caminero got 60 months.
Jump cut to
October 31, 2024, when
co-defendant Juan Checo pled
guilty, in the Magistrates
Court, before Magistrate Judge
Barbara C. Moses. Inner City
Press was there. He said he's
39, GED and a semester of
college. The indictment says
his a/k/a is Pickle. The
sentencing date is said to be
February 18, 2025.
The case is US v.
Santos, et al., 22-cr-522
(Woods)
***
Your
support means a lot. As little as $5 a month
helps keep us going and grants you access to
exclusive bonus material on our Patreon
page. Click
here to become a patron.
Feedback:
Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
SDNY Press Room 480, front cubicle
500 Pearl Street, NY NY 10007 USA
Mail: Box 130222, NY NY 10013
Reporter's mobile (and weekends):
718-716-3540
Other, earlier Inner City Press are
listed here,
and some are available in the ProQuest
service, and now on Lexis-Nexis.
Copyright 2006-2023 Inner City
Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com
|