U.S. v. Rivera-Branchs

Nature and Circumstances of Offense Charged Favor Defendant's Detention Pending Trial

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DECISION AND ORDER BACKGROUND Defendant John Rivera-Banchs (“Defendant”), proceeding pro se,¹ stands accused by way of an indictment returned on March 19, 2020, with engaging in a narcotics conspiracy involving five kilograms or more of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §846. (Dkt. 8). Defendant was originally charged by criminal complaint, and at an initial appearance before United States Magistrate Judge Mark W. Pedersen on February 21, 2020, the government moved for detention and a detention hearing was scheduled for February 25, 2020. (Dkt. 3). However, on February 25, 2020, Defendant withdrew his request for a hearing while reserving his rights. (Dkt. 5). After the return of the indictment, Defendant renewed his request for a detention hearing (Dkt. 17), and the hearing was held before Magistrate Judge Pedersen on May 1, 2020 (Dkt. 20), at which time he reserved decision. Magistrate Judge Pedersen issued an Order on May 4, 2020, detaining Defendant pending trial based on his conclusion “that no condition or combination of conditions can reasonably assure the appearance of Defendant or the safety of the community.” (Dkt. 19 at 2). In support of his conclusion, Magistrate Judge Pedersen made findings of fact that included 45 paragraphs related to the alleged criminal conduct. (Id. at 2-14). Among other findings, Magistrate Judge Pedersen concluded: (1) there were multiple controlled purchases of cocaine from Defendant made by a confidential source between July 2019 and February 2020, at various properties owned by Defendant in the Rochester area (id. at

4, 6, 10, 14, 18, 19); (2) Defendant owns at least nine properties in the Rochester area either in his mother’s name or in the name of J&L Transrealty, Inc., that he utilized for drug sales and possibly money laundering activities (id. at

U.S. v. Rivera-Branchs

Nature and Circumstances of Offense Charged Favor Defendant's Detention Pending Trial

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