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Villar v. U.S.

Counsel Not Ineffective; §2255 Sentence Relief Denied; 120-Month Sentence Proceeds

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OPINION & ORDER Walkin Arias Villar (“Defendant”, “Arias Villar”) moves to vacate, set aside, or correct his criminal sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §2255. He is currently serving a prison term of 120 months imposed after he pled guilty to extortion conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1951 resulting from the violent kidnapping and torture of a Drug Enforcement Agency (“DEA”) confidential informant. Arias Villar now alleges that he received ineffective assistance of counsel prior to and during his guilty plea and sentencing and asks that the Court resentence him. For the reasons stated below, Arias Villar’s motion is DENIED. BACKGROUND I. Factual Background On January 21, 2020, Arias Villar was indicted in a four-count indictment (“Indictment”) charging him with conspiracy to commit kidnapping, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1201(c) (“Count One”); kidnapping, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§1201(a)(1) and (2) (“Count Two”); extortion conspiracy in violation of 18 U.S.C. §1951 (“Count Three”); and extortion, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§1951 and 2. See Indictment, ECF No. 12.1 The Government alleged that Arias Villar and his co-conspirators participated in a multi-hour kidnapping where a DEA confidential informant (“Victim”) was lured and dragged into a waiting automobile in the Bronx. See United States v. Arias Villar, 1:20-cr-00056-PAC-4, 2020 WL 1888841, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Apr. 16, 2020). Once inside the vehicle, the Victim was tortured and forced to transfer $15,000 from his personal bank account. Id. Co-conspirators also demanded that an undercover officer (“UC-2″) — posing as the Victim’s cousin — pay a $500,000 ransom to secure the Victim’s release. See Presentence Report (“PSR”)

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