United States v. Riley
United States v. Riley
Opinion of the Court
Defendant, Cleon Riley, is charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm in violation of
Generally, it is the government's burden to persuade the court that pretrial detention is warranted. United States v. Moss ,
After careful consideration, the Court finds that the Defendant has not overcome his burden and orders that he be detained pending trial. In making this determination, the Court weighed the factors provided in
The Defendant, who is 36 years old, has lived in Worcester, Massachusetts for the majority of his life.
The Defendant has been charged with unlawfully possessing a firearm in violation of
Furthermore, the Defendant has a significant criminal history which not only includes convictions and lengthy sentences for drug charges, and/or gun related offenses, but shows a pattern of reoffending shortly after serving a sentence. Most recently, in 2013, the Defendant was sentenced to a term of seven years. It appears that he was released in June 2017 and began committing the offenses alleged in this complaint only about six months later. The Defendant is also facing additional drug trafficking charges in state court, which he has not yet been arraigned on. The Court recognizes the Defendant's concerns about the potential delay of proceedings in state court. However, to the extent that these concerns may be considered as falling under any of the statutory factors, I do not find that it weighs significantly in favor of Defendant's release.
Weighing the seriousness of the offense charged, for which the Defendant faces a substantial mandatory-minimum sentence, the strength of the government's case, the Defendant's history of reoffending with similar yet what appears to be increasingly more dangerous offenses, and taking into consideration the Defendant's strong ties to Massachusetts, proposed living situation, and status of his state court proceedings, I find that the Defendant has failed to rebut the presumption of pretrial detention. The Court finds that there is no condition or combination of conditions that will reasonably assure the safety to the community or his appearance as required and the Defendant is hereby ordered to be detained during the pendency of this case.
SO ORDERED.
The Defendant moved to Worcester, MA from the Bronx, NY when he was thirteen years old.
Two children reside in Worcester, one resides in Lowell, MA, and the fourth resides in CT.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- United States v. Cleon RILEY
- Status
- Published