Assaye v. United States
| Decision Date | 03 June 2020 |
| Docket Number | Crim. No. 1:15-cr-115 (LMB),No. 1:17-cv-1385 (LMB),1:17-cv-1385 (LMB) |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Eastern District of Virginia |
| Parties | WOSSEN ASSAYE, Movant, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Respondent. |
Before the Court is movant pro se Wossen Assaye's ("movant" or "Assaye") Motion to Vacate, Set Aside or Correct Sentence ("Motion to Vacate") under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, in which he argues that his convictions and sentence should be vacated due to the purported ineffective assistance of his trial and appellate counsel in connection with his 2015 guilty plea to two counts of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A)(ii) and 2. For the reasons stated below, Assaye's Motion to Vacate will be dismissed.
On March 25, 2015, Assaye was arrested and detained pursuant to a criminal complaint which charged him with robbery of the Apple Federal Credit Union in Alexandria, Virginia on March 20, 2015, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2113(a). [Dkt. 1]. Two months later, on May 28, 2015, a federal grand jury returned a 16-count indictment against Assaye which charged him with numerous offenses related to a string of bank robberies occurring between October 2013 and March 2015. [See Dkt. 14]. Specifically, Counts 1-6 and 12-13 of the indictment, respectively, charged Assaye with: robbery of the M&T Bank in Annandale, Virginia on October 22, 2013 (Count 1); robbery of the BB&T Bank in Oakton, Virginia on January 31, 2014 (Count 2); burglary of the M&T Bank in Annandale, Virginia on November 14, 2014 (Count 3); armed robbery of the SunTrust Bank in Alexandria, Virginia on November 20, 2014 (Count 4); armed robbery of the M&T Bank in Annandale, Virginia on December 1, 2014 (Count 5); robbery of the Apple Federal Credit Union in Alexandria, Virginia on March 20, 2015 (Count 6); using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to the armed robbery charged in Count 4 (Count 12); and using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to the armed robbery charged in Count 5 (Count 13), in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A)(ii), 2, and 2113(a) and (d). Id.
The remaining eight counts of the indictment charged Assaye with additional offenses related to his brief escape from federal custody on March 31, 2015 following his transfer from the Alexandria Detention Center to Inova Fairfax Hospital due to a suicide attempt. Id. Specifically, Counts 7-11 of the indictment, respectively, charged Assaye with: escape from the custody of the Attorney General, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 751(a) (Count 7); kidnapping L.N.K., a guard at Inova Fairfax Hospital who was working with the United States Marshals Service, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1201(a)(5) and 1114 (Count 8); assaulting L.N.K. with a dangerous weapon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 111(a)(1), (b), and 1114 (Count 9); assaulting T.P., another guard at Inova Fairfax Hospital working with the United States Marshals Service, with a dangerous weapon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 111(a)(1), (b), and 1114 (Count 10); and being a felon in possession of a firearm by taking L.N.K.'s service firearm from her before he assaulted her, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(e)(1) (Count 11). Id. Additionally, Counts 14-16, respectively, charged Assaye with using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to the kidnapping charged in Count 8 (Count 14); the assault with adangerous weapon charged in Count 9 (Count 15); and the assault with a dangerous weapon charged in Count 10 (Count 16), in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(c)(1)(A)(ii) and 2. Id.
On July 10, 2015, Assaye, through his court-appointed counsel, Assistant Federal Public Defender Brooke Rupert, filed three motions regarding the indictment. In his Motion to Sever Trial of Unrelated Counts, he argued that the counts related to the bank robberies should be severed from the charges related to his escape "to protect [him] from prejudicial misjoinder." [Dkt. 24]. In his Motion to Dismiss Counts 14-16, he argued that Counts 14-16 should be dismissed because, if convicted of those counts, "[he] would be sentenced at least three times for the single use of a firearm." [Dkt. 25]. And in his Motion to Change Venue, he argued that the trial should be moved to the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia "to ensure that [he] receive[d] a fair trial before a jury untainted by pre-trial publicity." [Dkt. 26]. All three motions were rendered moot by Assaye's subsequent guilty pleas.
On July 23, 2015, Assaye appeared with counsel for a plea hearing, the details of which are central to Assaye's Motion to Vacate. [Dkt. 29]. At the outset, Assaye was placed under an affirmation to tell the truth in answering all of the Court's questions, and confirmed his understanding that, if he lied, the government could prosecute him for perjury. [Dkt. 64 at 5:7-14]. Under the written plea agreement, Assaye agreed to plead guilty to Counts 13 and 15 of the indictment in exchange for all other counts being dismissed. Assaye acknowledged signing the agreement, and stated that he had read it, discussed it thoroughly with defense counsel, asked defense counsel all of his questions about it and received satisfactory answers, and had no questions for the Court about it. [Dkt. 64 at 8:1-10:1]. Assaye also stated that he was not under the care of a doctor for any physical or mental condition, had not taken any medication withinthe past 24 hours, and was not under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. [Dkt. 64 at 7:16-25].
Next, Assaye confirmed that he understood the proposed plea agreement, was voluntarily agreeing to it, and realized that if it was accepted, he would be bound by all of its terms. [Dkt. 64 at 10:7-11:12]. Various provisions of the proposed plea agreement were then reviewed with Assaye. For example, Assaye confirmed his understanding that he was facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 32 years' imprisonment and that he was waiving his right to appeal his conviction and sentence as long as the sentence he received did not exceed the statutory maximum of life imprisonment. [Dkt. 64 at 12:18-13:3, 17:17-18:8]. Assaye also stated that he understood the rights he was giving up by pleading guilty, including the right to have the Court resolve his three pending motions, that no one had put any force or pressure on him to plead guilty, and that he was fully satisfied with his defense counsel's representation of him throughout his case. [Dkt. 64 at 20:8-10, 24:4-15, 25:5-9].
At this point, the Court made clear that the proposed plea agreement had not yet been accepted, and that Assaye retained the right to change his mind and plead not guilty. [Dkt. 64 at 21:1-5]. The Court then turned to the proposed statement of facts, which Assaye confirmed he had read and signed. He also affirmed that he understood that by signing the statement of facts, he was admitting both the truth of each of those facts and that the government could prove each of those facts beyond a reasonable doubt if the case went to trial. [Dkt. 64 at 25:10-26:1]. Among the facts Assaye admitted were that he had committed 12 bank robberies between October 2013 and March 2015, including the six robberies charged in the indictment, and that he had briefly escaped from federal custody at Inova Fairfax Hospital on March 31, 2015, duringwhich he took L.N.K.'s service firearm and pointed it at both L.N.K. and T.P. [Dkt. 64 at 26:2-25; see also Dkt. 32].
In reviewing the proposed statement of facts with regard to Count 13, which charged Assaye with using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm during and in relation to the armed robbery of the M&T Bank in Annandale, Virginia on December 1, 2014, the following exchange occurred1:
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