Articles Posted in Homicide

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Last week, criminal defense attorney Matthew Galluzzo successfully persuaded a federal judge in Manhattan to sentence his client to a very favorable sentence. The client was guilty of selling fentanyl that led to the overdose death of a customer. Though there was no mandatory minimum for this offense, the Federal Sentencing Guidelines recommended a sentence of between 234 and 240 months in prison (i.e. approximately 20 years). The client had an extensive criminal record including, among other things, two prior felonies for drug trafficking and a conviction for a violent felony assault.

Mr. Galluzzo worked with a social worker to describe the client’s extremely difficult upbringing, which included parental abuse, poverty, homelessness, the foster care system, and drug abuse as a pre-teen. Mr. Galluzzo convinced the judge that pursuant to the recent Second Circuit decision in US v. Gibson, the client was not a Career Offender under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines despite his two prior convictions for NY Penal Law Section 220.39, resulting in his classification as a Criminal History Category IV instead of VI. He also convincingly described the overdose as a terrible accident and expressed his client’s remorse to the judge.

Ultimately, the Court granted a significant downward variance and gave him a sentence equal to roughly half that recommended by the Sentencing Guidelines, 120 months (10 years). The client was pleased with the result and felt that his voice had been heard. The case was US v. Huertero, 20-cr-580 (ER) before Judge Ramos.

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Last Friday, Matthew Galluzzo achieved another great sentencing result for a client in a New York City federal case. The client had pleaded guilty to a long list of violent crimes, including participating in a robbery that resulted in a homicide. Pursuant to the federal Sentencing Guidelines, the client faced a recommended sentence of life. Taking several other factors into consideration, the Department of Probation recommended that the judge impose a sentence of 96 months, or eight years, instead of the life sentence recommended by the federal Sentencing Guidelines.

Mr. Galluzzo submitted a sentencing memorandum that the judge described at sentencing as “very compelling,” and sentenced the client to time served, equivalent to 51 months. The client – who had spent the last 4+ years in various facilities including MCC New York and MDC Brooklyn, was released from the courthouse and went straight home. Obviously, he was elated with the result, which about half of the sentence recommended by Probation and considerably less than that recommended by the Sentencing Guidelines.

Most federal defendants plead guilty. Indeed, statistics show that almost 98% of federal defendants plead guilty to some crime. Oftentimes, a defense attorney’s most valuable contribution in a case is at the sentencing phase. There, criminal defense attorneys must make the most persuasive case for leniency. Mr. Galluzzo spends time to really understand his client and his history in order to make the best arguments to the judge. As a result of his hard work, he consistently gets his clients sentences below those recommended by the US Sentencing Guidelines, with this last case being a particularly striking example.

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Federal prosecutors sometimes have a powerful statute to use against drug sellers whose products cause fatal overdoses. Specifically, 21 U.S.C. Section 841 – the most common federal narcotics distribution charge – includes enhanced penalties for situations in which the defendants have sold or distributed narcotics that caused overdose deaths. A charge with no mandatory minimum under normal circumstances might carry a 20-year minimum where it can be proven that the drug that was sold caused someone to die. Some prior felons can also face potential mandatory life sentences for selling narcotics that cause fatalities. Even in a case in which the prosecution may not be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the narcotics caused a death, the prosecution may be able to secure a very stiff sentence under the federal Sentencing Guidelines, where the evidence proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant’s product is responsible.

First, the government has to prove that the defendant actually sold drugs to the deceased person. Law enforcement frequently uses text messages and phone records to prove transactions in these cases. Law enforcement also frequently attempts to purchase narcotics themselves (undercover) from the target/suspect. That way, in the very least, the government can prove a charge of 21 U.S.C. Section 841, if not the overdose aspect.

Many drug overdoses are polydrug situations, meaning that the deceased person ingested more than one drug recently. In those cases, it can be more complicated to ascertain the precise “but for” cause of death. Certain drugs may interact with each other in unclear ways, and other drugs may work together in aggregate towards the same toxidrome. It is critical to have the assistance of a toxicological expert and an attorney familiar with some of the issues in overdose analysis. Many if not most of the federal prosecutions in this sphere nowadays involve fentanyl, and that drug is indeed far more potent, prevalent and deadly than most others. But that doesn’t mean that fentanyl – even when it shows in the victim’s bloodwork – is always the but for cause of death.

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Earlier this week, a Canadian woman from Quebec named Pascale Ferrier was arrested by American border agents crossing into the United States near Buffalo, New York. She was wanted by law enforcement for allegedly sending an envelope containing ricin to the White House. (Ricin is a potentially lethal poison) The envelope was addressed to President Donald Trump and contained a note calling him, among other things, an “Ugly Clown Tyrant”. Fingerprints from the package sent to the President matched fingerprints on file from Ms. Ferrier’s previous incarceration in Texas. The letter and its contents also appear to match several other letters sent to prison officials in Texas, which also appear to have contained ricin. At the time of her arrest, Ms. Ferrier also allegedly had a firearm in her waistband.

For now, Ms. Ferrier is charged in a D.C. federal court with one count of violating 18 U.S.C. Section 871 (Threats against the President). Among other things, this charge makes it illegal for a person to knowingly deliver a letter containing a threat to take the life of the American President. The maximum penalty for this charge is 5 years in prison.

Ms. Ferrier is likely to face additional charges soon, however. For example, should law enforcement choose to charge her for the threatening letters she might have sent to the officials in Texas, she could face several counts of 18 U.S.C. Section 2332b (Acts of terrorism transcending national boundaries). Basically, if a person attempts to kill an official of a U.S. government agency through the mail in a manner transcending national boundaries, then that person can be charged with this crime. Those charges would carry potential life sentences.

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Federal murder cases are some of the most obviously serious cases in American criminal law. Under some circumstances, federal murder charges can involve the death penalty (even in states where the death penalty is illegal at the state level).

The most common two murder charges at the federal level are contained in 18 U.S.C. § 1111 and § 1117. The former describes federal murder as being the unlawful and killing of another human being with “malice aforethought.” Spur-of-the-moment killings thus might be charged as manslaughter instead, though “malice aforethought” does not require more than a moment’s reflection on the part of the actor. The charge is broken down into two degrees: first and second degree murder.

First degree murder involves those intentional killings perpetrated by “poison, lying in wait, any other kind of willful, deliberate, malicious and premeditated killing; or committed in the perpetration of, or attempt to perpetrate, any arson, escape, murder, kidnapping, treason, espionage, sabotage, aggravated sexual abuse or sexual abuse, child abuse, burglary, or robbery; or perpetrated as part of a pattern or practice of assault or torture against a child or children; or perpetrated from a premeditated design unlawfully and maliciously to effect the death of any human being other than him who is killed…”  First degree murder is punishable by death or life in prison.

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The case of Jamill Jones and whether he should be charged with homicide.

Recently, an unfortunate tragedy occurred in Queens resulting in a man’s death. A tourist from Florida named Sandor Szabo requested an Uber to take him from a family member’s wedding. In an apparently intoxicated effort to find his Uber, Mr. Szabo banged on several nearby cars with his fists. He eventually banged on the car belonging to Jamill Jones, an assistant coach for the Wake Forest University men’s basketball team. Mr. Jones got out of his car and punched Szabo one time in the face. Szabo fell to the ground and hit his head on the pavement. Jones drove away. Szabo was taken to the hospital and later died from the injury. See “Wake Forest coach could face murder charges,” NY Post, August 10, 2018.

Jones was identified and surrendered himself to police. As of yet, he has only been charged with a misdemeanor assault in violation of Penal Law Section 120.00 (Assault in the Third Degree, to be precise). That charge makes it a crime, punishable by up to one year in prison, to intentionally cause physical injury to another person. This is a typical charge for a single punch to the face. The fact that Mr. Szabo tragically died, however, makes the situation more complicated from a legal perspective. The New York Post article suggests that Mr. Jones could face murder charges, but that is perhaps imprecise or incorrect. Murder charges (such as the most common charge of Murder in the Second Degree, in violation of Penal Law Section 125.25) would require a showing that Jones not only killed Szabo, but that he intended to kill Szabo. That seems unlikely given that he only punched Szabo once.

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Matthew Galluzzo, a criminal defense attorney, after a six week trial in the Bronx, recently convinced a jury to acquit his defendant of the most serious murder charge on the indictment. The client was instead convicted of a lesser manslaughter charge, meaning that he will not be facing the life sentence that he would have faced upon a conviction for murder. Sentencing is scheduled for August 11, 2016.

A link to a news report about the case is available below. If you or your a loved one is facing homicide-related charges, you should seriously consider retaining the services of The Law Office of Matthew Galluzzo.

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Recently, Matthew Galluzzo – a criminal defense attorney and former Manhattan prosecutor – was asked by several news outlets, including the BBC, Reuters, and the Globe and Mail, to discuss the apparent confession to murder made by Robert Durst to interviewers from an HBO television program. He spoke live to the BBC on two occasions and his comments were printed by Reuters and the Globe and Mail. The articles are available here.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/03/16/us-usa-durst-idUSKBN0MC1PH20150316

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