Vazquez-Ortiz v. USA

Filing 5

OPINION AND ORDER re 1 Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus filed by Christian Vazquez-Ortiz. For the reasons contained in our expanded opinion, we hereby TRANSFER Petitioner's § 2241 motion to the Middle District of Florida. Signed by Judge Jose A. Fuste on 02/26/2015.(mrj)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

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CHRISTIAN VÁZQUEZ-ORTIZ,
Plaintiff,

Civil No. 14-1898 (JAF)

v.

(Crim. No. 10-251-84)

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Defendant.
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OPINION AND ORDER

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Petitioner Christian Vázquez-Ortiz (“Vázquez-Ortiz”) comes before the court with

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a habeas corpus petition pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241, asking us to credit him for time

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spent in United States custody in Criminal No. 10-251-84. 1 Because we are not the

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proper venue, we transfer his petition to the Middle District of Florida.

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I.

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Background

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On July 14, 2010, Vázquez-Ortiz was federally indicted and a warrant was issued

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for his arrest. (Crim. Case No. 10-251-84, Docket Nos. 3, 5.) On September 24, 2010,

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because Vázquez-Ortiz was either “on release pending trial for a state or federal felony

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[or was] on release after conviction for any type of offense, state or federal,” Magistrate

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Judge Vélez-Rivé ordered that Vázquez-Ortiz be detained temporarily under 18 U.S.C.

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§ 3142(d) until October 4, 2010. (Crim. Case No. 10-251-84, Docket No. 471.) On

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October 5, 2010, Magistrate Judge Vélez-Rivé ordered that Vázquez-Ortiz be detained

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to title 28.

Vázquez-Ortiz titles his petition as one stemming from 18 U.S.C. § 2241, but we assume he means to cite

Civil No. 14-1898 (JAF)

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pending trial, in accordance with 18 U.S.C. § 3142(f), because he was “currently

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completing a state sentence in jail.” 2 (Crim. Case No. 10-251-84, Docket No. 512.) On

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February 15, 2011, Vázquez-Ortiz pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute narcotics in

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violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1), and 860. (Crim. Case No. 10-251-84, Docket

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Nos. 1205, 1206, 1208, 2419.) Sentencing was held on December 6, 2011, and judgment

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was entered the next day. (Crim. Case No. 10-251-84, Docket Nos. 2418, 2419.) We

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sentenced Vázquez-Ortiz to eighty-seven (87) months imprisonment.

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No. 10-251-84, Docket No. 2419.)

(Crim. Case

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According to Vázquez-Ortiz, he was returned to state custody on February 2,

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2012, and then transferred back to federal custody on March 14, 2014, to begin serving

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his federal sentence. (Docket No. 1 at 1-2.) He alleges that the Federal Bureau of

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Prisons only credited him five days for prior jail time, and that he should have been

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credited with the time between his initial arrest and his transfer to state custody. On

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November 24, 2014, Vázquez-Ortiz filed the instant petition for writ of habeas corpus,

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pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2241. 3

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II.

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Jurisdiction

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“Whenever a § 2241 habeas petitioner seeks to challenge his present physical

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custody within the United States, he should name his warden as respondent and file the

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petition in the district of confinement.” Rumsfeld v. Padilla, 542 U.S. 426, 447 (2004);

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See also Braden v. 30th Judicial Circuit Ct., 410 U.S. 484, 495-96 (1973). Because

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Judge Vélez-Rivé lists several state offenses committed by Vázquez-Ortiz. We believe that he was in jail
at the time for a robbery and Puerto Rico weapons law violation. (Crim. Case No. 10-251-84, Docket No. 512.)
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The petition was originally filed on November 24, 2014, in Crim. Case No. 10-251-84, Docket No. 3237,
but was refiled a month later in the current civil case, Civil Case No. 14-1898, Docket No. 1.

Civil No. 14-1898 (JAF)

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Vázquez-Ortiz is currently incarcerated in Coleman, Florida, his petition should be

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transferred to the Middle District of Florida.

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III.

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Conclusion

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For the foregoing reasons, we hereby TRANSFER Petitioner’s § 2241 motion
(Docket No. 1) to the Middle District of Florida.

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IT IS SO ORDERED.

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San Juan, Puerto Rico, this 26th day of February, 2014.

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S/José Antonio Fusté
JOSE ANTONIO FUSTE
U. S. DISTRICT JUDGE