United States v. Deleon

291 F.Supp.3d 1283

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff,

v.Angel DELEON ; Joe Lawrence Gallegos; Edward Troup, a.k.a. "Huero Troup;" Leonard Lujan; Billy Garcia, a.k.a. "Wild Bill"; Eugene Martinez, a.k.a. "Little Guero;" Allen Patterson; Christopher Chavez, a.k.a. "Critter ;" Javier Alonso, a.k.a. "Wineo;" Arturo Arnulfo Garcia, a.k.a. "Shotgun ;" Benjamin Clark, a.k.a. "Cyclone;" Ruben Hernandez; Jerry Armenta, a.k.a. "Creeper;" Jerry Montoya, a.k.a. "Boxer;" Mario Rodriguez, a.k.a. "Blue;" Timothy Martinez, a.k.a. "Red;" Mauricio Varela, a.k.a. "Archie," a.k.a. "Hog Nuts ;" Daniel Sanchez, a.k.a. "Dan Dan;" Gerald Archuleta, a.k.a. "Styx," a.k.a. "Grandma ;" Conrad Villegas, a.k.a. "Chitmon;" Anthony Ray Baca, a.k.a. "Pup;" Robert Martinez, a.k.a. "Baby Rob;" Roy Paul Martinez, a.k.a. "Shadow;" Christopher Garcia; Carlos Herrera, a.k.a. "Lazy;" Rudy Perez, a.k.a. "Ru Dog;" Andrew Gallegos, a.k.a. "Smiley;" Santos Gonzalez; Paul Rivera, Shauna Gutierrez, and Brandy Rodriguez, Defendants.

No. CR 15–4268 JB

United States District Court, D. New Mexico.

Filed December 3, 2017

James D. Tierney, Acting United States Attorney, Maria Ysabel Armijo, Randy M. Castellano, Matthew Beck, Assistant United States Attorneys, United States Attorney's Office, Las Cruces, NM, Attorneys for the Plaintiff United States.

Richard Sindel, Sindel, Sindel & Noble, P.C., Clayton, MO and Brock Benjamin, Benjamin Law Firm, El Paso, TX, Attorneys for Defendant Joe Lawrence Gallegos.

Patrick J. Burke, Patrick J. Burke, P.C., Denver, CO and Cori Ann Harbour–Valdez, The Harbour Law Firm, P.C., El Paso, TX, Attorneys for Defendant Edward Troup.

Russel Dean Clark, Las Cruces, NM, Attorney for Defendant Leonard Lujan.

James A. Castle, Castle & Castle, P.C., Denver, CO and Robert R. Cooper, Albuquerque, NM, Attorneys for Defendant Billy Garcia.

Douglas E. Couleur, Douglas E. Couleur, P.A., Santa Fe, NM, Attorneys for Defendant Eugene Martinez.

Phillip A. Linder, The Linder Firm, Dallas, TX and Jeffrey C. Lahann, Las Cruces, NM, Attorneys for Defendant Allen Patterson.

John L. Granberg, Granberg Law Office and Orlando Mondragon, El Paso, TX, Attorneys for Defendant Christopher Chavez.

Nathan D. Chambers, Nathan D. Chambers, LLC, Denver, CO and Noel Orquiz, Deming, NM, Attorneys for Defendant Javier Alonso.

Scott Moran Davidson and Billy R. Blackburn, Albuquerque, NM, Attorneys for Defendant Arturo Arnulfo Garcia.

Stephen E. Hosford, Stephen E. Hosford, P.C., Arrey, NM and Jerry Daniel Herrera, Albuquerque, NM, Attorneys for Defendant Benjamin Clark.

Pedro Pineda, Las Cruces, NM, Attorney for Defendant Ruben Hernandez.

Gary Mitchell, Mitchell Law Office, Ruidoso, NM, Attorney for Defendant Jerry Armenta.

Larry A. Hammond, Osborn Maledon, P.A., Phoenix, AZ and Margaret Strickland, McGraw & Strickland, Las Cruces, NM, Attorneys for Defendant Jerry Montoya.

Steven M. Potolsky, Jacksonville Beach, FL and Santiago D. Hernandez, Law Office of Santiago D. Hernandez, El Paso, TX, Attorneys for Defendant Mario Rodriguez.

Jacqueline K. Walsh, Walsh & Larranaga, Seattle, WA and Ray Velarde, El Paso, TX, Attorneys for Defendant Timothy Martinez.

Joe Spencer and Mary Stillinger, El Paso, TX, Attorneys for Defendant Mauricio Varela.

Amy E. Jacks, Law Office of Amy E. Jacks, Los Angeles, CA and Richard Jewkes, El Paso, TX, Attorneys for Defendant Daniel Sanchez.

George A. Harrison, Las Cruces, NM, Attorney for Defendant Gerald Archuleta.

B.J. Crow, Crow Law Firm, Roswell, NM, Attorney for Defendant Conrad Villegas.

Theresa M. Duncan, Duncan, Earnest, LLC, and Marc M. Lowry, Rothstein Donatelli, LLP, Albuquerque, NM, Attorneys for Defendant Anthony Ray Baca.

Charles J. McElhinney, McElhinney Law Firm, LLC, Las Cruces, NM, Attorney for Defendant Robert Martinez.

Marcia J. Milner, Las Cruces, NM, Attorney for Defendant Roy Paul Martinez.

Christopher W. Adams, Charleston, SC and Amy Sirignano, Law Office of Amy Sirignano, P.C., Albuquerque, NM, Attorneys for Defendant Christopher Garcia.

Carey Corlew Bhalla, Law Office of Carey C. Bhalla, LLC, Albuquerque, NM and Michael V. Davis, Michael V. Davis, Attorney & Counselor at Law, P.C., Corrales, NM, Attorneys for Defendant Carlos Herrera.

Justine Fox–Young and Ryan J. Villa, Albuquerque, NM, Attorneys for Defendant Rudy Perez.

Donavon A. Roberts, Albuquerque, NM, Attorneys for Defendant Andrew Gallegos.

Erlinda O. Johnson, Law Office of Erlinda Ocampo Johnson, LLC, Albuquerque, NM, Attorneys for Defendant Santos Gonzalez.

Angela Arellanes, Albuquerque, NM, Attorneys for Defendant Shauna Gutierrez.

Jerry A. Walz, Walz and Associates, Albuquerque, NM, Attorneys for Defendant Brandy Rodriguez.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

JAMES O. BROWNING, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

THIS MATTER comes before the Court on the United States' Sealed Motion Regarding Attorney Conflict, filed May, 4, 2017 (Doc. 1126)("Attorney Conflict Motion"). The Court held hearings on November 8–9, 2017, Transcript of Hearing (held November 8, 2017), filed November 20, 2017 (Doc. 1456)("Nov. 8 Tr."); Transcript of Hearing (held November 9, 2017), filed November 20, 2017 (Doc. 1457)("Nov. 9 Tr."), and again on November 27–29, 2017, Draft Transcript of Motion Hearing (taken November 27–29, 2017)("Second Hearing Tr.").¹ The primary issue is whether Michael V. Davis' ethical duties to his former client, Defendant Roy Paul Martinez, prevent Mr. Davis from representing Defendant Carlos Herrera in this case. The Court determines that Mr. Davis' represented R.P. Martinez in a matter that is substantially related to this case and that R.P. Martinez' interests are materially adverse to Herrera's. Accordingly, the Court concludes that Mr. Davis' ethical duties to R.P. Martinez prevent him from representing Herrera in this matter.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Before setting out its findings of fact, the Court will provide background information regarding the Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico ("SNM") as well as background information regarding each of the Defendants in this case and the charges that they face. The Court takes its background facts from the Superseding Indictment, filed April 21, 2016 (Doc. 367). The facts are largely unchanged from those that the Court provided in its Memorandum Opinion and Order, filed October 28, 2016 (Doc. 753). See United States v. DeLeon, 2016 WL 7242579 (D.N.M. 2016) (Browning, J.). See also Memorandum Opinion and Order, filed March 8, 2017 (Doc. 943); United States of America v. Angel DeLeon, 2016 WL 3124632 (D.N.M. 2016) (Browning, J.). The Court does not set forth these facts as findings or the truth. The Court recognizes that the factual background is largely the United States' version of events and that the Defendants are all presumed innocent.

This case deals with crimes that SNM allegedly committed through its members. See Superseding Indictment at 2. SNM, through its members, operated in the District of New Mexico at all relevant times, and its members engaged in acts of violence and other criminal activities, "including murder, kidnapping, attempted murder, conspiracy to manufacture/distribute narcotics, and firearms trafficking." Superseding Indictment at 2. SNM constitutes an enterprise "as defined in Title 18, United States Code, Section 1959(b)(2), that is, a group of individuals associated in fact that engaged in, and the activities of which affected, interstate and foreign commerce." Superseding Indictment at 3.

SNM is a violent prison gang formed in the early 1980s at the Penitentiary of New Mexico ("PNM") after a violent prison riot at PNM during which inmates seriously assaulted and raped twelve correctional officers after taking them hostage. Superseding Indictment at 3. During the riot, thirty-three inmates were killed, and over 200 were injured. See Superseding Indictment at 3. After the PNM riot, SNM expanded throughout the state's prison system and has had as many as 500 members. See Superseding Indictment at 3. SNM has approximately 250 members, run by "a 'panel' or 'mesa' (Spanish for table) of leaders who issued orders to subordinate gang members." Superseding Indictment at 3. SNM controls drug distribution and other illegal activities within the New Mexico penal system, but it also conveys orders outside the prison system. See Superseding Indictment at 3. Members who rejoin their communities after completing their sentences are expected to further the gang's goals, the main one being the control of and profit from narcotics trafficking. See Superseding Indictment at 4. Members who fail "to show continued loyalty to the gang [are] disciplined in various ways, [ ] includ[ing] murder and assaults." Superseding Indictment at 4. SNM also intimidates and influences smaller New Mexico Hispanic gangs to expand its illegal activities. See Superseding Indictment at 4. If another gang does not abide by SNM's demands, SNM manages to assault or kill one of the other gang's members to show its power. See Superseding Indictment at 4. SNM's rivalry with other gangs also manifests itself in beatings and stabbings within the prison system. See Superseding Indictment at 4. SNM further engages in violence "to assert its gang identity, to claim or protect its territory, to challenge or respond to challenges, to retaliate against a rival gang or member, [and] to gain notoriety and show its superiority over others." Superseding Indictment at 4–5. To show its strength and influence, SNM expects its members to confront and attack any suspected law-enforcement informants, cooperating witnesses, homosexuals, or sex offenders. See Superseding Indictment at 5. To achieve its purpose of preserving its power, SNM uses intimidation, violence, threats of violence, assaults, and murder. See Superseding Indictment at 7. SNM as an enterprise generates income by having its members and associates traffic controlled substances and extort narcotic traffickers. See Superseding Indictment at 7. SNM's recent activities in a conspiracy to murder high-ranking New Mexico Corrections Department...