Motion Picture Association of America v. CrystalTech Web Hosting Inc.

Filing 1270

M o t i o n Picture Association of America v. CrystalTech Web Hosting Inc.

D o c . 1270

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D A N I E L G. KNAUSS U n ite d States Attorney D is tr ic t of Arizona L IS A JENNIS SETTEL A s s is ta n t U.S. Attorney Two Renaissance Square 4 0 N. Central Avenue, Suite 1200 P h o e n ix , AZ 85004-4408 T e l e p h o n e : [phone] L i s a . S e t t e l@ u s d o j. g o v

U N I T E D STATES DISTRICT COURT D IS T R IC T OF ARIZONA U n ite d States of America, C R -0 5 -1 0 8 6 -P H X -R O S P l a i n t if f , v. A n d re s Vasquez-Vera, D e fe n d a n t. T h e United States of America, by and through its attorneys, Daniel G. Knauss, United UNITED STATES' REPLY TO DEFENDANT'S RESPONSE TO SENTENCING MEMORANDUM

14 S ta te s Attorney for the District of Arizona, and Lisa Jennis Settel, Assistant United States 15 A tto rn e y , respectfully replies to defendant's response to government's sentencing 16 m em o ra n d u m . 17 I. 18 T h e re is no dispute that defendant's sister is Cruz Vasquez-Vera (hereinafter "Cruz"). 19 PSR ¶ 30. "El Chapo" has been identified as the person running the stash house located on 20 21 E rn e sto Sanchez-Quintero. And several victims in this case have identified him through 22 p h o t o line-ups as El Chapo. In June 2004, while using the name Ernesto Quintero Montes, 23 E l Chapo was stopped by the Phoenix Police Department driving a rented van. Inside the 24 v an was a 9mm loaded handgun and a ledger containing names, addresses and monetary 25 a m o u n ts . The police took "Ernesto" to a local hotel where his wife Cruz Vasquez-Vera was 26 lo c a ted . Inside the hotel room was $2,450. Both Cruz and Ernesto were removed to 27 M e x ic o . The couple was apprehended by border patrol in July 2004 and were removed 28 2 8 th Drive. "El Chapo" has been identified as using the names Nivardo Urrea-Quintero and D E F E N D A N T IS LEADER'S BROTHER IN LAW

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a g a in . In September 2004, using the name Nivardo Urrea-Quintero, El Chapo and three o th e rs were found by ICE in possession of firearms on the Tohono O'odhan Nation. Nivardo w a s prosecuted in U.S. District Court in Tucson, and was convicted of alien in possession. "Cruz" wrote a letter to the court stating that Nivardo was her husband and that they had two c h ild re n together ages 2 months and 10 years. Nivardo served his sentence and was deported to Mexico on September 7, 2005. "El Chapo" was clearly the leader of this alien smuggling/ h o sta g e taking case. Not only would come to the house where the victims were being held b u t he physically and verbally threatened the aliens. "El Chapo" also attempted to trade sex fo r the smuggling fee of some of the aliens. PSR ¶ 9.

II.

P O L L O LISTS T h e pollo lists are clear and do indicate who in fact was being held for a fee. For

e x a m p l e on bate stamped page 167 of defendant's attachment, listed are four of the victims' n a m e s who were found in the house and the name and number of the person who was c o n ta c te d to pay their fee.

III.

R E P O R T OF HOSTAGE TAKING ON OCTOBER 7, 2005 D efe n d an t is mistaken when attaching the I-213 of his brother Alberto Vasquez-Vera

a n d stating that it means that Alberto's sister reported her brother was being held hostage. The I-213 merely contains a summary of the case. There were two separate people who rep o rted to the police that there family members were being held in Phoenix by smugglers u s in g phone number 602-299-4357. One report came from Michigan, and that party stated h e r nephew, niece and an unknown male were being held and threatened with rape and death. Those victims were found at the 28 th Drive house on October 11, 2005, and are: Carmelinda P e re z -R a m ire z , Froylan Perez-Ramirez, and Roberto Ruiz-Jimenez. The other report came fro m Kansas City on October 7, 2005. That person stated her brother, Josue RamirezQ u in ta n a , was being held at a house in Phoenix and if she did not pay he would be sent back 2

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to Mexico in a box. PSR ¶ 6. That victim was also found at the house on 28 th Drive on O c to b e r 11, 2005.

IV.

V I C T I M STATEMENTS O f the 11 people found at that house that were not the defendant's brother, one of the

th re e juveniles, or actually defendants, seven were interviewed. All of them stated that they w e re held in bedrooms at the house and could only leave those rooms to go to the bathroom a n d that they needed permission for that too. Hence, they could not always see everything th a t was happening in the house. All the victims stated defendant Vasquez-Vera was g u a rd in g them and all people interviewed identified the defendant from a photo line-up. See A tta c h m e n t A for the victims' interviews. R O B E R T O RUIZ-JIMENEZ H e stated that defendant had a shotgun slung around him while guarding the aliens a n d that he told the aliens to be quiet. He also stated that defendant threatened to beat the a lie n s if they did not call their families and that defendant had free reign of the house. Roberto stated defendant pretended to be a pollo and ran into one of the bedrooms when the p o lic e arrived at the house. J O S U E RAMIREZ-QUINTANA W h e n he arrived at the house, he was instructed to remove his belt and shoes and to g o to one of the bedrooms. He did see defendant holding a shotgun. He stated that d e fe n d a n t make phone calls to the aliens' families for the smuggling fee, gave food to the a lie n s and was free to move around the house. M I R IA M VILLA-FRANCA S h e called defendant "El Moreno" and stated that he guarded the aliens at night with th e shotgun. She stated defendant did not point the shotgun at the aliens and was very quiet. She also stated that she thought defendant was the boss' brother in law.

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C A R M E L IN D A PEREZ-RAMIREZ S h e identified defendant as a smuggler who sometimes carried the shotgun but she did n o t know much about him. F R O Y L A N PEREZ-RAMIREZ H e stated defendant was guarding the aliens with a shotgun. He said that defendant stated that if the smuggling fee was not paid, he would kill them. Defendant gave them very little food and victim was always hungry. He stated the smuggled aliens could not leave the r o o m without permission from the smugglers. J U V E N A L GUERO-AGUIRRE H e stated the smugglers took his shoes and identification when he arrived at the h o u s e . He stated defendant told the aliens not to talk and carried the shotgun when the other s m u g g le r slept. Defendant made phone calls to collect the smuggling fee and told the fa m ilie s to send the money or the smugglers would physically assault the aliens. He did not s e e him point a shotgun at anyone. Juvenal was beaten by El Chapo on at least two o c c a s io n s and that other smugglers were present during the beatings. M A R I O RIOS HERNANDEZ W h e n he arrived at the house on 28 th Drive (stash house) he was asked to take off his b e l t and shoes so he could not leave the house. Mario identified Alberto Vasquez-Vera as a s m u g g le r and stated that he saw defendant with a shotgun. He also stated that defendant g a v e them a little food and sold them sodas and snacks. When defendant was interviewed he claimed that cooked and cleaned because he c o u ld not pay his fee. Defendant is clearly minimizing his conduct. He was a trusted m e m b e r of the smuggling organization as he was left alone in the house, he guarded the a lien s, and he arranged for payment of the smuggling fee. Because he did not engage in p h y s ic a l violence like his co-conspirators he was offered a favorable plea agreement. The U n ite d States recommends a sentence of seven years since it is apparent that defendant b r a n d i sh e d the shotgun while guarding the aliens. 4

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R e sp e c tfu lly submitted this 20th day of July, 2007. D A N IE L G. KNAUSS U n ite d States Attorney D is tric t of Arizona S /L is a J. Settel L IS A JENNIS SETTEL A s s is ta n t U.S. Attorney C e rtific a te of Service

7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 5 I hereby certify that on this day, I electronically transmitted the attached document to the C ler k 's Office using the CM/ECF System for filing and transmittal of a Notice of Electronic F iling to the following CM/ECF registrants: Mark Berardoni and Brian O'Connor.