United States v. Garcia

• Decision Date: 27 April 2020
• Docket Number: No. CR 19-2846 JB,CR 19-2846 JB
• Parties: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. EZ GARCIA, Defendant.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of New Mexico

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. EZ GARCIA, Defendant.

No. CR 19-2846 JB

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW MEXICO

April 27, 2020

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

THIS MATTER comes before the Court on the Objections to PSR, filed April 27, 2020 (Doc. 42)("Objections"). The primary issues are: (i) whether the Court should apply United States Guidelines Manual ("U.S.S.G." or "Guidelines") § 3A1.1(b)(1), which provides a 2-level sentencing enhancement for crimes involving unusually vulnerable victims, to Defendant EZ Garcia, because he severely assaulted Jane Doe, his eighty-six-year-old grandmother, with her cane, but did so while he was heavily inebriated; (ii) whether the Court should impose sex offender treatment as a condition of Garcia's supervised release, because he was convicted of a sex crime in 2008, when he was a juvenile, despite Garcia's argument that there is no nexus between the 2008 offense and this federal offense for which he is being sentenced, which is not a sex crime; (iii) whether the Court should forbid contact between Garcia and his grandmother, the victim, without the United States Probation Office's ("USPO") approval as a condition of Garcia's supervised release, over Garcia's Objection that such a condition deprives him of a fundamental right to familial association and that this condition impermissibly delegates punishment to the USPO; (iv) whether the Court should require that Garcia spend six months at a halfway house as a condition of his supervised release over Garcia's Objection that such a condition is unnecessary; and (v) whether the Presentence Investigation Report, filed March 25, 2020 (Doc. 40), errs in assigning Doe's extended humerus bone as a wound from Garcia's assault and not as a preexisting condition. The Court concludes that: (i) U.S.S.G. § 3A1.1(b)(1)'s vulnerable-victim enhancement applies, because Garcia's use of Doe's cane, on which she relies to walk, rendered her unusually vulnerable to Garcia's assault; (ii) the Court will not impose sex offender treatment as a condition of Garcia's supervised release, because the earlier sexual offense happened when Garcia was a juvenile, he has committed no similar crimes since the earlier offense, and there is insufficient nexus between the earlier offense and this offense; (iii) the Court will prohibit contact between Garcia and Doe absent USPO approval, and the no-contact order does not impermissibly delegate punishment to the USPO, because the Court instructs the USPO to liberally consent to contact, provided that Doe consents and Garcia complies with his supervised release conditions; (iv) the Court will require that Garcia stay at a halfway house as a condition of his supervised release, because this condition is reasonably necessary to protect the public, prevent crime, and promote Garcia's rehabilitation; and (v) the PSR errs in assigning Doe's extended humerus as a resulting injury, because the Court cannot conclude by a preponderance of the evidence that Garcia's assault caused Doe's humerus bones to be unequal in size. Accordingly, the Court sustains in part and overrules in part Garcia's Objections.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Garcia pled guilty to a 1-count Indictment, filed August 27, 2019 (Doc. 18), on January 28, 2020. See Plea Agreement at 4, filed January 28, 2020 (Doc. 36). The Indictment charges that, on or about June 10, 2019, in Indian Country, Garcia, an Indian, "assaulted Jane Doe, and the assault resulted in serious bodily injury." Indictment at 1. In his Plea Agreement, Garcia declares the following facts true under penalty of perjury:

I, EZ Garcia. an Indian and enrolled member of the Navajo Nation. assaulted Jane Doe and caused serious bodily injury. Specifically, on or about June 10, 2019, I used Jane Doe's cane to hit her over the head and arms multiple times. At the time of the incident, I was extremely intoxicated and blacked out. I later learned that I caused serious bodily injury to Jane Doe, including extreme physical pain rated as a 10 out of 10 by Jane Doe, multiple injuries requiring medical intervention including lacerations to Jane Doe's face and arms, contusions and swelling to her arm, and a concussion. The incident occurred within the exterior boundaries of the Navajo Reservation, in the District of New Mexico.

Plea Agreement ¶ 7, at 4. By signing the Plea Agreement, Garcia "agrees that the Court may rely on any of these facts, as well as facts in the presentence report, to determine the Defendant's sentence[.]" Plea Agreement ¶ 8, at 4.

The PSR expounds on these facts by providing:

11. On June 10, 2019, at approximately 8:00 pm, the [Ramah Navajo Police Department ("RNPD")] was notified that an elderly female was being taken to the Pine Hill clinic for medical treatment. The elderly female was identified as E.B., hereinafter referred to as Jane Doe, year of birth 1933.

12. Jane Doe was transported from the Pine Hill clinic to Gallup Indian Medical Center (GIMC) in Gallup, New Mexico by Pine Hill Emergency Medical Service (EMS). Jane Doe told Pine Hill EMS emergency medical technicians that she was sitting on her bed when her grandson, Ez Garcia, took her cane from her and began hitting her. Jane Doe was unable to defend herself from the attack. Progress notes from GIMC state that Jane Doe suffered from at least six lacerations along her frontal forehead. Jane Doe also suffered from lacerations to her left mid-forearm and left hand.

13. Jane Doe was interviewed by the FBI and [RNPD] on June 11, 2019. The interview was conducted in Navajo. During the interview, Jane Doe stated she was on her bed in her bedroom on June 10, 2019. Garcia came into Jane Doe's bedroom, grabbed Jane Doe's walking cane, and hit Jane Doe multiple times on her head with the cane. Garcia also hit Jane Doe on her arms. Garcia then dragged Jane Doe by her arm from her bedroom to the sofa in the family room. Jane Doe and Garcia both sat on the sofa. Garcia was intoxicated. After Garcia fell asleep on the sofa, Jane Doe, an 85-year-old female, walked approximately 200 yards through the woods to seek help. A passerby on the road stopped and helped Jane Doe into her vehicle. The passerby drove Jane Doe to the Pine Hill clinic for medical treatment.

. . . .18. According to Pine Hill Health Center medical records, Jane Doe was ambulatory, and she was walking with a female that had picked her up by the roadside. Jane Doe had dried blood on her shirt, and spots of blood on her skirt. Jane Doe had multiple lacerations to her head, a laceration to left arm, and avulsions (tearing of the skin) to both hands. Several of the wounds were not actively bleeding, but the head wounds were slightly bleeding, venous (relating to veins). Listing and severity of wounds are as follows:

• Full thickness laceration to left front side of face approximately six cm in length from forehead to lateral of nose, minimal bleeding, venous.

• Full thickness laceration to face forehead near nose approximately five cm in length, from medial forehead contacting first laceration at an angle minimal bleeding, venous.

• Laceration to top of head partial thickness, approximately three cm.

• Left eye completely swollen shut.

• Left forearm six cm laceration full thickness, not actively bleeding, soft tissue exposed.

• Left wrist avulsion approximately three cm in diameter, not actively bleeding.

• Right hand avulsion approximately three cm in diameter, not actively bleeding.

• Left head of humerus (bone in arm that runs from shoulder to elbow) and joint not equal to right.

• Several contusions to left forearm.

. . . .

20. In summary, on June 10, 2019, Garcia who was under the influence of alcohol, assaulted Jane Doe, Garcia's grandmother, multiple times in the head, face, and arms using Jane Doe's cane as a weapon. Jane Doe went to the hospital and required medical attention including surgery, which resulted in serious bodily injury. Jane Doe is unusually vulnerable due to her being 86 years old at the time of the instant offense. In addition, Garcia physically restrained Jane Doe when he dragged her by her arm from her bedroom to the sofa in the family room.

PSR ¶¶ 11-20, at 4-7. Garcia objects to the PSR's stated facts only as to the PSR's attribution of Doe's humerus to Garcia's assault. See Objections at 5.

The PSR applies a base offense level of 14 under U.S.S.G. § 2A2.2(a). See PSR ¶ 26, at 7. The PSR adds two specific offense adjustments -- use of a dangerous weapon and resulting serious bodily injury -- under U.S.S.G. § 2A2.2(b)(2)(B) and (b)(3)(B). See PSR ¶¶ 27-28, at 7. The PSR also adds two victim-related adjustments for vulnerable victim and restraint of victim. See PSR ¶¶ 29-30, at 7 (citing U.S.S.G. §§ 3A1.3 and §3A1.1(b)(1)). The PSR then decreases the overall offense level by three levels for Garcia's acceptance of responsibility and assistance to authorities. See PSR ¶¶ 35-36, at 8. The PSR provides an overall offense level of 24 and a criminal history category of II, based on Garcia's abusive sexual contact with a minor family member when he was a juvenile. See PSR ¶¶ 40-41, at 8-10. The PSR calculates a Guidelines imprisonment range of 57-71 months. See PSR ¶ 115, at 27. The PSR recommends that the Court impose sex offender treatment and a six-month halfway house residency as special conditions of Garcia's supervised release. See PSR ¶ 121, at 28; Attachment A to the Presentence Report at 3, filed March 25, 2020 (Doc. 40-1)("Bruce Memo").¹ The USPO further recommends that the Court prohibit Garcia from interacting with his victim for one to thee years, his supervised release's duration. See Bruce Memo at 3. Garcia objects to the 2-level vulnerable-victim enhancement, the sex offender treatment, the halfway house requirement, the no-contact order, and the attribution of Doe's extended humerus to Garcia's assault. See Objections at 1-14.

LAW REGARDING THE VULNERABLE VICTIM ADJUSTMENT

The vulnerable victim adjustment, U.S.S.G. § 3A1.1(b),...