United States v. Parfaite
| Docket Number | 3:21-CR-56 |
| Decision Date | 21 March 2022 |
| Parties | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. WALTER KENNETH PARFAITE, Defendant |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Middle District of Pennsylvania |
Before the court in this case with charges of drug trafficking and distribution of illicit drugs, are twenty (20) pre-trial motions, (Doc. 34), including 18 discovery motions, a suppression motion, and a motion in limine, filed by defendant Walter Kenneth Parfaite, a/k/a "Kenny." The motions of defendant Parfaite have been briefed and Exhibits have been submitted. For the reasons set forth below, the court will GRANT IN PART and DENY IN PART the pre-trial discovery motions of remaining defendant Parfaite. The court will DEFER ruling on Parfaite's motion in limine to preclude the government from introducing photographs into evidence until the time of trial. The court will DENY AS MOOT, Parfaite's motion to suppress the recorded statements of his then co-defendant Matthew Luce.
On March 3, 2021, a grand jury charged Parfaite with three counts in a 7-count Indictment, to wit: Count 1, Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine and Heroin, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §846; Count 6, Possession with Intent to Distribute Methamphetamine, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. §841 (a)(1); and, Count 7, Possession with Intent to Distribute Heroin, in violation of Title 21 U.S.C. §841 (a)(1). (Doc. 1). The Indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation.
On March 12, 2021, Parfaite, was arraigned by Chief United States Magistrate Judge Mehalchick, and he entered a plea of "Not Guilty" to the charges. He was ordered detained by the judge and has remained detained at Lackawanna County Prison to the present time. (Docs. 16 & 18).
On October 4, 2021, Parfaite filed numerous omnibus pre-trial motions, (Doc. 34), including the following: a motion for discovery under Fed.R.Crim.P. 16(a)(1)(A)-(F); a motion for material under Brady v. Maryland. 373 U.S. 83. 83 S.Ct. 1194 (1963). as well as Giglio material; a motion to receive copies of his recorded interview and the recorded interviews of then co-defendant Luce and Confidential Witness #1, (CW#1"), and Confidential Witness #2, ("CW #2"); a motion pursuant to Fed.R.Evid. 403 and 404(b) for the government to disclose all evidence of other or similar crimes, wrongs, or acts, allegedly committed by him or by then co-defendant Luce to be used at trial; a motion for the names of each expert witness and related information who the government plans on calling to testify at trial; a motion for all statements required to be produced under Jencks, 18 U.S.C. §3500; and a motion for information related to the grand jury such as the dates of each grand jury that heard evidence about this case, the instructions provided to the grand jury before the Indictment was returned, and the voting record and transcript of the return in open court of the Indictment. Parfaite also filed a motion for severance or suppression of the statements made by then co-defendant Luce and he requests the court to enter an Order separating his trial from Luce's trial and/or to issue an Order suppressing or excluding from his trial the statements made by then co-defendant Luce. Parfaite also filed a motion to suppress his statements made to investigators after his arrest on February 23, 2021. Parfaite further moves for an Order directing the government to disclose any statements made by coconspirators that it intends to offer against him at trial under Fed.R.Crim.P. 801(d)(2)(E). Parfaite also moves the court conduct a "James hearing" to determine the admissibility of any co-conspirator's statements which the government intends to introduce under the "co-conspirator's exception" to the hearsay rule, F.R.E. 801(d)(2)(E). Further, Parfaite moves for the disclosure of identifying information regarding CW #1 and CW #2 because they may have information relevant to the drug trafficking conspiracy count, Count 1.
Finally, Parfaite filed a motion in limine to exclude from evidence at trial the photographs taken by officers on February 23, 2021, after the execution of a search warrant at the Paramount Motel, Room #3, 2220 Milford Road, East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Parfaite moves to exclude the photographs pursuant to Fed.R.Evid. 403 and 901 claiming that they are not date stamped or time stamped to reflect that they were contemporarily taken at the time of the search warrant execution, and that they are not correct resemblances or truthful representations of the motel room and are confusing and unfairly prejudicial.
Parfaite simultaneously filed his combined brief in support of his motions on October 4, 2021. (Doc. 35).
After being granted an extension of time, on November 8, 2021, the government filed its consolidated brief in opposition to all of Parfaite's motions, (Doc. 47), as well as its Exhibits on a DVD, (Doc. 48).
The court rescheduled the final pre-trial conference, ("FPTC"), in this case for April 8, 2022, and the trial date is now set for May 9, 2022. As noted, Parfaite is now the sole remaining defendant in this case.
The court will first address Parfaite's pre-trial discovery motions. (Doc. 34 at 2-11).[2] Then, Parfaite's motion to suppress Luce's statements and his motion in limine will be discussed.
Initially, Parfaite, (Doc. 35 at 2), admits that:
Defendant has received some discovery from the Government, including a CD containing 125 pages of documents, photographs, and videos from the execution of a search warrant on February 23, 2021, a USB flash drive containing an audio file, digital forensic reports, 12, 667 pages of Facebook records and documents from the Monroe County District Attorney's office, and fifty-two pages of additional discovery materials.
Also, at the outset, the court recognizes that the government has already provided Parfaite with significant discovery materials since his motion was filed, which the government indicates, (Doc. 37 at 20-21), includes the following:
At first, the government did not give Parfaite a copy of Luce's audio/video recorded statement, and did not provide him with the digital forensic reports from the cellular phone of unindicted co-conspirator Michael Sparano. (Doc. 47 at 21-23).
On July 16, 2021, the government states that it provided further discovery to Parfaite, including, the following: "the complaint affidavit and detention order concerning Defendant Luce, interview notes from the February 23, 2021, police interviews with Ashley Grimes and Ryan Yesner, a second copy of the FBI 302 described above, the paperwork regarding the consensualization of phone recordings, ..., and two laboratory reports from the Drug Enforcement Agency laboratory." Additionally, on August 10, 2021, the government states that it provided "a summary of the expected testimony of the CIs in this case [i.e., CW#1 & CW#2] to Defendant Parfaite", and "[i]n that summary, the Government also disclosed the expected testimony of the other individuals who were either present in the [motel] room with the defendants on February 23, 2021, or who bought controlled substances from the defendants prior to February 23, 2021." (Doc. 47 at 22-23).
Finally, on November 5, 2021, the government provided additional discovery to Parfaite, (Id. at 23), including, the following:
the full, unredacted statements of both defendants, the digital forensic report of Michael Sparano to Defendant Parfaite, the jail calls from Defendant Parfaite from Lackawanna County Prison, excerpts of the text conversations between co-conspirators Luce, Parfaite, and Sparano, the MCDA incident report, the recorded interview of unindicted co-conspirator Michael Sparano, and additional criminal history paperwork regarding Defendant Parfaite.
In sum as of November 8, 2021, the government has provided Parfaite with "1145 pages of discovery, in addition to six digital forensic reports, Facebook records from five social media accounts, approximately 140 photographs, all the recorded interviews of the co-conspirators in this case, and all the laboratory reports from the analysis of any controlled substances currently in the Government's possession." Since the government did not possess any further laboratory reports regarding the heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine recovered in this case at the time of its brief, these reports had not yet been provided to Parfaite. (Id. at 23-24). Thus, the court directs the government to immediately provide Parfaite with all of the laboratory reports regarding the heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine involved with this case, if it has not...
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