U.S. v. Matos

• Decision Date: 18 December 2008
• Docket Number: Criminal No. 05cr30012-NG.
• Citation: 589 F.Supp.2d 121
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, v. Eddie MATOS, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Massachusetts

589 F.Supp.2d 121

UNITED STATES of America, v. Eddie MATOS, Defendant.

Criminal No. 05cr30012-NG.

United States District Court, D. Massachusetts.

December 18, 2008.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

Perman Glenn, III, Law Office of Perman Glenn, III, Springfield, MA, for Defendant.

Thomas E. Kanwit, United States Attorney's Office, Boston, MA, for Plaintiff.

SENTENCING MEMORANDUM

GERTNER, District Judge:

                TABLE OF CONTENTS
                I. INTRODUCTION...........................................................124
                 II. FACTS..................................................................125
                     A. The Zayas Drug Conspiracy........................................................125
                     B. The Firearms.....................................................................126
                III. PROCEDURAL HISTORY.....................................................127
                 IV. STANDARD...............................................................128
                     A. Sentencing.......................................................................128
                     B. Safety Valve.....................................................................128
                  V. ANALYSIS...............................................................129
                     A. Possession.......................................................................129
                        1. Actual Possession.............................................................130
                        2. Constructive Possession.......................................................131
                     B. "In Connection With" The Offense.................................................137
                

                VI. SENTENCE...............................................................139
                     A. Nature and Circumstances of the Offense..........................................139
                     B. Deterrence and Rehabilitation....................................................140
                     C. The Guidelines Sentencing Range..................................................140
                VII. CONCLUSION.............................................................141
                

I. INTRODUCTION

Eddie Matos ("Matos") was prosecuted for his role in a drug distribution conspiracy in Springfield, Massachusetts, led by Luis Zayas ("Zayas").¹ Matos assisted Zayas by permitting Zayas to store drugs and weapons at his house and by participating in several drug transactions. Prior to Matos' sentencing, Zayas—the conspiracy's leader and organizer—received a sentence of 10 years' imprisonment, consistent with a Guidelines recommendation of 120 to 135 months. Since the drug conspiracy involved more than 50 grams of a substance containing cocaine base (i.e., crack), Matos must also serve a mandatory minimum of at least 10 years unless he is found eligible for the "safety valve." See 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A)(iii); 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f); U.S.S.G. § 5C1.1.

The government concedes that Matos satisfies four of the five safety valve criteria that would entitle him to a Guidelines sentence, rather than the 10-year mandatory minimum. Matos is a first-time offender, with no more than one criminal history point.² The offense did not result in death or serious bodily injury to any person. He was not an organizer, leader, manager, or supervisor in the conspiracy— indeed, far from it. And he has truthfully provided the government with all information and evidence in his possession relevant to the offense. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(1)-(5). In each of these respects, Matos fits the very profile that Congress contemplated when it enacted the safety valve statute in order to exempt certain first-time offenders from the extremely severe mandatory penalties applicable to drug trafficking offenses.³ Thus, the sentencing determination turns on the last safety valve factor: whether Matos "possess[ed] a firearm ... in connection with the offense." 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(2).

As a possession case, this sentencing is unusual. Rather than relying solely on circumstantial inferences drawn from the guns' physical location and proximity to the drugs, the Court here has the benefit of direct evidence: Zayas admitted that he owned and possessed the weapons, a stipulation to which the government agreed at Zayas' trial.⁴ Zayas Trial Tr. 203 (document # 180); see also Matos PSR ¶ 18. Zayas had a key to Matos' house and was permitted to store both drugs and guns there. Statement of Eddie Matos, March 3, 2005 (document # 209-2). Even the confidential witness ("CW") testified to having seen Zayas, but not Matos, regularly carry the .25 caliber handgun with him on drug deals. Zayas Trial Tr. 104-06 (document # 178). Finally, Matos' fingerprints were not found on any of the guns.⁵

Just as significantly, a jury acquitted Zayas of possessing the firearms found in Matos' house in furtherance of the drug offense. But while the government dropped the gun charge against Matos after Zayas' acquittal, it continues to press the argument that Zayas' guns disqualify Matos from the safety valve. In short, it argues that Matos should receive a sentence equal to his boss—even though Zayas, who purchased and carried the weapons, was acquitted of possessing the guns in furtherance of the offense.

Based on the Court's weighing of the evidence, it finds that Matos did not possess a firearm in connection with the offense. In particular, Matos has satisfied his burden of showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that he did not have the "intention to exercise control, or dominion and control" over the firearms that Zayas stored at his house. United States v. Smith, 292 F.3d 90, 99 (1st Cir.2002) (citing United States v. Zavala Maldonado, 23 F.3d 4, 7 (1st Cir.1994)); see also United States v. DeCologero, 530 F.3d 36, 67 (1st Cir.2008) (constructive possession requires that the defendant "knowingly ha[ve] the power and the intention at a given time of exercising dominion and control over a firearm"). Moreover, even if Matos had constructive possession of the weapons, the Court does not believe that such possession was "in connection with the offense" within the meaning of § 3553(f)(2).

The possession determination, of course, does not end the sentencing inquiry. As it is, even with the safety valve, Matos stands to receive a recommended Guidelines sentence of 57 to 71 months' imprisonment. The safety valve is no free ticket. For the reasons stated below, the Court sentences Matos to 57 months in prison, finding that this penalty satisfies the purposes of punishment set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).

II. FACTS

A. The Zayas Drug Conspiracy

Luis Zayas led and operated a cocaine and marijuana distribution ring from his house at 37 Allendale Street in Springfield, Massachusetts. Eddie Matos lived across the street, at 38 Allendale Street. It is uncontested that Matos permitted Zayas to use his residence as one of several "safe houses," where Zayas stored and packaged significant quantities of drugs.⁶ Zayas had at least two other safe houses in Springfield, and one in Holyoke, Massachusetts, from which he distributed cocaine. Zayas Trial Tr. 59, 97, 100 (document # 178). The government arranged three controlled purchases of crack cocaine from Zayas by a confidential witness ("CW") over a period of four months. On each occasion, the CW called Zayas with a request to buy crack and Zayas instructed the witness to drive to his address at 37 Allendale Street to purchase the drugs. Zayas or a third individual called "Chino" would then meet the CW there and they would conclude the transaction, either at Zayas' house or across the street. Matos PSR ¶¶ 12-14.

Matos directly participated in only one of these drug sales. The first purchase, on November 16, 2004, was conducted by Chino at Zayas' residence; there is no evidence that it involved Matos or that the purchased drugs had even been stored at his house. Matos PSR ¶ 12. On a second occasion two weeks later, after Chino met the CW and escorted him from Zayas' house across the street to Matos' driveway, Matos handed Chino a pill bottle of crack, which was then sold to the CW. On the last occasion, on February 24, 2005, Zayas brought the CW to the safe-house, Matos' residence, after they had already completed the crack cocaine purchase, where the CW reported seeing Matos packaging and selling marijuana. Matos PSR ¶¶ 12-14. Finally, Matos admits that the night before their arrest, he and Zayas drove to New York in Zayas' pick-up truck to purchase cocaine, which was then cooked into crack at Matos' house.

Based on these facts, there is no question that Matos was several levels below Zayas in the drug conspiracy's hierarchy. At the same time, there is little doubt that Matos agreed to keep the drugs at his house and, on at least one occasion, participated in preparing the drugs for sale; he also admitted to selling small amounts of marijuana himself. But no evidence suggests that he dealt directly with Zayas' crack customers or his suppliers or that Matos oversaw or directed any other members of the conspiracy. Nor is there any evidence that Matos carried a weapon during any drug transaction.

B. The Firearms

In addition to drugs, Matos allowed Zayas to store three firearms at the house: a .25 caliber handgun, a .45 caliber handgun, and a semiautomatic AR-15 assault rifle, together with ammunition. When police arrested Zayas and Matos on March 3, 2005, they discovered the .45 caliber handgun and the AR-15 assault rifle hidden together in the ceiling of Matos' basement. The .25 caliber handgun was found on top of a kitchen cabinet, alongside several small bags of marijuana, a metal pan laced with cocaine residue, a shotgun shell, a scale, and two pay stubs with Matos' name on them. Matos PSR at ¶ 15. It is the .25 caliber handgun that is the focus of the government's arguments at sentencing. See Gov't Second Sent. Mem. 4-6 (document # 209).

At his arrest, Zayas expressly admitted to owning all three of the weapons and to storing them under Matos' roof with his drugs. Matos PSR ¶ 18. He had a spare key to Matos' house and could come and go as ...