United States v. Garcia
| Decision Date | 02 May 2017 |
| Docket Number | No. CR 15-4275 JB,CR 15-4275 JB |
| Parties | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. CHRISTOPHER GARCIA, Defendant. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of New Mexico |
THIS MATTER comes before the Court on: (i) the Defendant's Motion to Compel Disclosure of Discoverable Materials, filed February 25, 2017 (Doc. 163)("Motion to Compel"); and (ii) the Defendant's Motion for Discovery and Inspection Concerning Government's Use of Informants and Cooperating Individual; Disclosure and Notice of Exculpatory Evidence Requested Concerning Government's Use of Informants and Cooperating Individuals, filed February 28, 2017 (Doc. 181)("CI Motion"). The Court held a hearing on April 13, 2017, which continued onto April 14, 2017. The primary issues are: (i) whether the Court should compel Plaintiff United States of America to disclose certain materials and documents that Defendant Christopher Garcia asserts are in its possession, custody, and control, in accordance with rule 16 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, and all other federal laws regulating discovery in criminal cases; and (ii) whether the Court should order disclosure of the identities of, and other information regarding, certain confidential informants ("CIs") assisting the United States in this prosecution. At the hearing, the Court addressed each specific discovery and disclosure request, and made specific rulings with respect to the requests that the parties did not resolve before or during the hearing. Accordingly, the Court will grant in part and deny in part the Motion to Compel and the CI Motion.
The Court takes its recitation of the facts regarding Garcia's standalone drug case from the Redacted Superseding Indictment, filed March 16, 2016 (Doc. 49)("Redacted Superseding Indictment"). The Court recognizes that the facts are largely the United States' version, and that Garcia is presumed innocent. First, however, the Court will provide the facts from the cases related to Garcia's drug case, so the reader has the fuller context of all of the relevant background information.
The Court first, then, takes its facts from the first Superseding Indictment in United States v. DeLeon, 2016 WL 7242579 (D.N.M. 2016)(Browning, J.). See also United States of America v. Angel DeLeon, 2016 WL 3124632 (D.N.M. 2016)(Browning, J.). The Court does not set forth these facts as findings or the truth. The Court recognizes that the factual background is largely the United States' version of events and that the Defendants are all presumed innocent.
This case deals with crimes that the Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico (Spanish for Syndicate of New Mexico)("SNM") allegedly committed through its members. See Superseding Indictment at 2. SNM, through its members, operated in the District of New Mexico at all relevant times, and its members engaged in acts of violence and other criminal activities, "including murder, kidnapping, attempted murder, conspiracy to manufacture/distribute narcotics, and firearms trafficking." Superseding Indictment at 2. SNM constitutes an enterprise "as defined in Title 18, United States Code, Section 1959(b)(2), that is, a group of individualsassociated in fact that engaged in, and the activities of which affected, interstate and foreign commerce." Superseding Indictment at 3.
SNM is a violent prison gang formed in the early 1980s at the Penitentiary of New Mexico ("PNM") after a violent prison riot at PNM during which inmates seriously assaulted and raped twelve correctional officers after taking them hostage. See Superseding Indictment at 3. During the riot, thirty-three inmates were killed, and over 200 were injured. See Superseding Indictment at 3. After the PNM riot, SNM expanded throughout the state's prison system and has had as many as 500 members. See Superseding Indictment at 3. SNM has approximately 250 members, comprised of "a 'panel' or 'mesa' (Spanish for table) of leaders who issued orders to subordinate gang members." Superseding Indictment at 3. SNM controls drug distribution and other illegal activities within the New Mexico penal system, but it also conveys orders outside the prison system. See Superseding Indictment at 3. Members who rejoin their communities after completing their sentences are expected to further the gang's goals, the main one being the control of and profit from narcotics trafficking. See Superseding Indictment at 4. Members who fail "to show continued loyalty to the gang [are] disciplined in various ways, [] includ[ing] murder and assaults." Superseding Indictment at 4. SNM also intimidates and influences smaller New Mexico Hispanic gangs to expand its illegal activities. See Superseding Indictment at 4. If another gang does not abide by SNM's demands, SNM manages to assault or kill one of the other gang's members to show its power. See Superseding Indictment at 4. SNM's rivalry with other gangs also manifests itself in beatings and stabbings within the prison system. See Superseding Indictment at 4. SNM further engages in violence "to assert its gang identity, to claim or protect its territory, to challenge or respond to challenges, to retaliate against a rival gang or member, [and] to gain notoriety and show it superiority over others."Superseding Indictment at 4-5. To show its strength and influence, SNM expects its members to confront and attack any suspected law enforcement informants, cooperating witnesses, homosexuals, or sex offenders. See Superseding Indictment at 5. To achieve its purpose of preserving its power, SNM uses intimidation, violence, threats of violence, assaults, and murder. See Superseding Indictment at 7. SNM as an enterprise generates income by having its members and associates traffic controlled substances and extort narcotic traffickers. See Superseding Indictment at 7. SNM's recent activities in a conspiracy to murder high-ranking New Mexico Corrections Department Officials inspired the present investigation. See United States v. Garcia, No. 15-4275 JB, Memorandum Opinion and Order at 2, filed November 16, 2016 (Doc. 133)(citing United States' Response to Defendant's Motion to Designate Complex (Doc. 56) at 1, filed May 3, 2016 (Doc. 70)("United States' Garcia Response")). Some other relevant facts giving rise to the federal prosecution of this case are as follows.
In March of 2014, a Doña Ana County, New Mexico, grand jury indicted Defendants Jerry Montoya and Jerry Armenta on charges of first-degree murder and four other felonies related to the death of Javier Enrique Molina, Montoya and Armenta's fellow inmate during their incarceration at the Southern New Mexico state prison. See United States v. DeLeon, 2016 WL 7242579, at *3. The New Mexico Third Judicial District Attorney's Office accused Montoya and Armenta of fatally stabbing Molina with a shank in a gang-related attack. See United States v. DeLeon, 2016 WL 7242579, at *3. That grand-jury indictment charged Montoya and Armenta with: (i) Molina's murder; (ii) possessing a deadly weapon; (iii) tampering with evidence; and (iv) two counts of conspiracy. See United States v. DeLeon, 2016 WL 7242579, at *3. The Doña Ana County District Attorney then dismissed the charges against Montoya and Armenta -- as well as separate charges against alleged accomplice and Defendant MarioRodriguez, who had been charged with possession of a deadly weapon by a prisoner, tampering, and conspiracy -- in November of 2015. See United States v. DeLeon, 2016 WL 7242579, at *3. "A spokesperson for the District Attorney's Office indicated the charges were dismissed because the cases were going to be prosecuted at the federal court level." See United States v. DeLeon, 2016 WL 7242579, at *3.
Next, the Court discusses the facts of another related SNM case. The Court, here, takes its recitation of facts from the Redacted Grand Jury Indictment in United States v. Baca, No. CR 16-1613 JB, filed Apr. 23, 2016 (Doc. 2)("Indictment"), and notes that some of the facts are virtually identical to those giving rise to United States v. DeLeon. Again, the Court does not adopt the facts as findings or truth. SNM is a prison gang that controls drug distribution and other illegal activities within the New Mexico prison system, and is similarly involved in narcotics trafficking occurring outside of the prison system. See Indictment ¶ 3, at 2. It is alleged that SNM's leaders, members, prospects, and associates constitute an enterprise as is defined under 18 U.S.C. §§ 1959(b)(2) and 1961(4), which provide that an enterprise constitutes a group of individuals associated in fact that engaged in, and the activities of which affected, interstate and foreign commerce. See Indictment ¶ 2, at 2. The Indictment thus provides that SNM constitutes "an ongoing organization whose members/prospects/associates function[] as a continuing unit for the common purpose of achieving the objectives of the enterprise." Indictment ¶ 2, at 2. Accordingly, the Indictment alleges that Defendants Anthony Ray Baca, Christopher Garcia, Manuel Jacob Armijo, Frederico Munoz, Sergio Loya Rodriguez, Manuel Benito, Vincent Garduño, Mandel Lon Parker, Daniel Archuleta, Daniel Sanchez, Anthony Cordova, and Richard Gallegos, committed: (i) Racketeering Conspiracy under 18 U.S.C. §1962(d); (ii) Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering (Murder) under 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(1); (iii) Aiding and Abetting under 18 U.S.C. § 2; and (iv) Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering (Conspiracy to Murder) under 18 U.S.C. § 1959(a)(5). See Indictment at 1.
SNM was formed after the February, 1980, prison riots at the New Mexico Penitentiary in Santa Fe, New Mexico. See Indictment ¶ 3, at 2. During the prison riot, thirty-three inmates were killed; more than 200 inmates were injured; and certain inmates held hostage, assaulted, and raped twelve correctional officers. See Indictment ¶ 3, at 2. Since the prison riot, SNM has expanded...
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