Elawyers Elawyers
Washington| Change

United States v. Velez-Hernandez, 95-1130 (1996)

Court: Court of Appeals for the First Circuit Number: 95-1130 Visitors: 16
Filed: Jul. 22, 1996
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: _____________ _______________________, Senior Litigation Counsel, and Juan A. Pedrosa, Assistant United, _______________, States Attorney, on brief for appellee. Defendant Juan Velez-Hernandez appeals the, Per Curiam.any offense.Velez' claim that he had forgotten the omitted information.
USCA1 Opinion









July 22, 1996 [NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT

____________________

No. 95-1130

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Appellee,

v.

JUAN VELEZ-HERNANDEZ,

Defendant, Appellant.

____________________


APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

[Hon. Jos Antonio Fust , U.S. District Judge] ___________________

____________________

Before

Torruella, Chief Judge, ___________

Coffin, Senior Circuit Judge, ____________________

and Cyr, Circuit Judge. _____________

____________________



Francisco Serrano Walker on brief for appellant. ________________________
Guillermo Gil, United States Attorney, Jos A. Quiles-Espinosa, _____________ _______________________
Senior Litigation Counsel, and Juan A. Pedrosa, Assistant United _______________
States Attorney, on brief for appellee.


____________________


____________________














Per Curiam. Defendant Juan Velez-Hernandez appeals the Per Curiam. __________

sentence imposed following his guilty plea to one count of

conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine under 21

U.S.C. 841(a)(1), 846. Velez claims that the district court

erroneously ruled that the government did not breach the plea

agreement by failing to recommend a downward departure for

"substantial assistance." See 18 U.S.C. 3553(e); U.S.S.G. ___

5K1.1. We affirm.

Under his plea agreement, Velez promised to continue

truthfully to disclose to the government accurate information

related to all unlawful activities in which he and his

collaborators were involved, and to refrain from "commit[ting]

any offense." The government in turn promised to recommend a

downward departure for "substantial assistance" pursuant to 18

U.S.C. 3553 and U.S.S.G. 5K1.1.

Several months after entering into the plea agreement,

Velez was arrested on a new charge, as a felon in possession of a

loaded firearm, see 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1), to which he pled ___

guilty. Thereafter, Velez provided further information to the

government about the earlier cocaine conspiracy, which he had not

disclosed as required by the plea agreement. At sentencing, the

government declined to move for a "substantial assistance"

departure, citing Velez' deliberate withholding of the

information relating to the cocaine conspiracy, in direct

violation of the plea agreement. The district court rejected

Velez' claim that he had forgotten the omitted information.


2












Additionally, the district court determined that Velez'

commission of a subsequent offense violated the plea agreement as

well. Accordingly, the court ruled that the government had acted

in good faith and that Velez' conduct relieved the government of

any obligation to recommend a 5K1.1 downward departure.

We need not discuss the Velez challenge to the district

court's ruling insofar as it depended on the failure to disclose

all information relating to his unlawful activities involving his

collaborators, since Velez' failure to refrain from "commit[ting]

any offense" inarguably constituted a material breach of the plea

agreement sufficient to warrant the government's refusal to

recommend a downward departure for substantial assistance.

Affirmed. Affirmed. _________




























3






Source:  CourtListener

Can't find what you're looking for?

Post a free question on our public forum.
Ask a Question
Search for lawyers by practice areas.
Find a Lawyer