| Man Pled to
Crack and Gun by Mitchell Houses US Asks
365 Months & Delay on Espinosa
By Matthew
Russell Lee, Patreon
SDNY COURTHOUSE,
Oct 1 – Xavier Arau was
charged with selling crack
with a gun near the Mitchell
Houses in the
Bronx.
On September 21, 2021 U.S.
District Court for the
Southern District of New York
Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil held a
proceeding. Inner City Press
covered it.
The
complaint cites a Confidential
Source-1 with prior state
convictions for robbery and
narcotics, and provides info
for money.
On
September 21, 2021 there was
talk of a cell phone seized
from the defendant.
Jump cut to
September 16, 2022:
co-defendant Roberto Espinosa
was brought into the SDNY
Magistrates Court, the last
presentment of the day. But
the CJA lawyer on duty might
have a conflict of interest.
They went out into the hall,
and when they returned she was
appointed only for
presentment. After detention
on consent, there was talk of
re-doing the appoint of
counsel next week, as the next
all-defendant proceeding (on
October 4 at 2 pm) would be
too busy.
On August 14,
2023 before Judge Vyskocil,
lead defendant Xavier Arau was
brought in in MDC tan and
pleaded guilty to Count 3. His
sentencing was set for
December 7 (his counsel
declined a November 29 date).
There were two other people in
the gallery, where Inner City
Press was: apparently Arau's
parents.
On January 29,
2024 Arau's counsel wrote in,
now for a February 12
sentencing, and asked for the
7 years or 84 months mandatory
minimum. She said he held a
gun in a group photo but did
not actually brandish it. He
wants to move upstate and not
back to The Bronx, she writes.
On February 5,
the US Attorney's Office wrote
in seeking the same sentence,
the stipulated guidelines
sentence of 84 months, on
February 12.
On February 12,
Inner City Press was present
in the gallery, as were
members of Arau's family. He
was sentenced to the mandatory
minimum seven years, while
Judge Vyskocil praised him for
educational programs at the
MDC. At first his lawyer
requested a designation far
update New York, then, as
close as possible to Orange
County.
On May 7, 2024,
counsel for Henry Jones wrote
in, noting the high guideline
and asking for a sentence of
240 months - twenty years.
On May 14, the US
Attorney's Office on Henry
Jones asked for 30 years,
citing instagrams dissing
victims and contraband phones.
On May 21, Jones
got thirty years: "JONES
participated in the murder of
19-year-old Darren Scruggs,
attempted to murder another
person, supplied his fellow
gang members with the crack
cocaine that they sold on a
near-daily basis, and ensured
that his fellow gang members
were armed with guns."
On June 25
counsel to Amier Wilson asked
for 10 years when he is
sentenced on July 9.
On July 8, the US
Attorney's Office filed
"additional disciplinary
reports from the MDC"
including
Back on October
16, 2023 counsel to
co-defendant Juan Manuel
Reyes-Cruz wrote in asking for
a below guidelines sentence on
October 30, noting that he is
in another case before Judge
Broderick for the same
conduct, and citing the PSR by
Mitigation Specialist Kristin
Hogan of 888 Grand Concourse
in The Bronx. She, or he,
describes Mott Haven in The
Bronx as "wild"
On October 24,
the US wrote in, quoting the
defendant dancing in jail with
knives, the video of which was
posted with the caption "The
Mitch getting sturdy in the
feds they be home." The Mitch
is the Mitchell Houses, the
prosecutors say - and ask for
ten years.
Juan Reyes'
sentencing was pushed to
December 8, then to March 5,
2024. On February 28 his
lawyer wrote in to arguing
that while the US Attorney's
Office cites his social media
posts "likely intend[ing] to
argue that these posts are
evidence of Mr. Reyes
violation MDC rules regarding
possession illegal cell
phones," that it was in fact
his mother who posted on his
Instagram account.
Back on
December 5, co-defendant Jamie
Wilkins pled guilty, with
sentencing set for March 28,
2024 at 11 am.
On December 7,
co-defendant Davion Trusty
pleaded guilty, with
sentencing April 16, 2024 at
11 am.
On July 2, 2024,
for a July 9 sentencing, the
US Attorney's Office wrote in
asking for 151 months on Amier
Wilson.
On July 10, Judge
Vyskocil sentenced Wilson to
156 months.
[And on July 25,
Chief Judge Swain in another
of Wilson's cases, about the
armed robbery of a Dunkin
Donuts and another store, aeed
on 84 months for a total of
240 months or 20 years]
On July 30,
counsel to co-defendant Trusty
wrote in and asked for 97
months - he asking has a
pending homicide case in The
Bronx in which the next court
date is August 20. Federal
sentencing was set for August
13 at 11 am.
Inner City Press
attended and covered the
sentencing, in which a 144
month (12 year) sentence was
imposed, with violence in and
social media posting from the
MDC were cited.
On August 14 the
US Attorney's Office wrote in
on co-defendant Wilkins asking
for 96 months on August 20.
On August 20,
Inner City Press went to the
sentencing. Judge Vyskocil
wished the defendant well,
noting two losses that he
suffered, but when she
sentenced him to 78 months,
defense counsel objected to
that as "substantively
unreasonable." The objection
was overruled.
On September 19,
for co-defendant Espinosa, the
US Attorney's Office wrote in
seeking the top of the
guidelines - 365 months.
The night before
the re-scheduled October 2
sentencing, the US Attorney's
Office wrote in that the
victim's family hadn't known
of the rescheduled date and
could not be present; they
asked for a brief adjournment
so that the victim's family
has additional time to make
arrangements to attend the
sentencing.
The case is US v.
Arau, et al., 21-cr-570
(Vyskocil)
***
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