Opinion
2:23-cr-107-PPS
09-17-2024
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. DARRIUS L. SMITH, Defendant.
OPINION AND ORDER
PHILIP P. SIMON, JUDGE.
Darrius Smith is in custody pending his sentencing, which is set for November 21, 2024. [DE 29.] Smith pleaded guilty to one count of Unlawful Possession of a Firearm by a Felon, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). [See DE 16; DE 19; DE 21.] Before me now is Smith's Motion for an Order to Release Defendant to Home Confinement for the period before his sentencing on November 21. [DE 34.] For the reasons set forth below, Smith's Motion for Release to Home Confinement is DENIED.
Smith cites 18 U.S.C. § 3142(i), titled “Release or detention of a defendant pending trial”, as the authority for his request. This is the incorrect statute, though this is admittedly a complicated area of law. After a defendant has been adjudicated guilty, detention is instead governed by § 3143, which is entitled “Release or detention of a defendant pending sentence or appeal.” The organization and language of these two provisions governing release and detention suggests that § 3142 governs only detention prior to an adjudication of guilt, and that § 3143 governs release or detention pending sentence, as §3143(a)(1) plainly refers to “a person who has been found guilty of an offense and who is awaiting imposition or execution of sentence.” See also United States v. Hartsell, 448 F.Supp.3d 975 (N.D. Ind. 2020); United States v. Young, No. 2:18-CR-21-2-TLS-APR, 2020 WL 2092837, at *2 (N.D. Ind. April 30, 2020).
Under § 3143, judges are to order defendants for whom the sentencing guidelines recommend a term of imprisonment to be detained pending sentencing unless “the judicial officer finds by clear and convincing evidence that the person is not likely to flee or pose a danger to the safety of any other person or the community if released under section 3142(b) or (c).” 18 U.S.C. § 3143(a)(1). Section 3142(b) concerns release on personal recognizance or unsecured appearance bond and Section 3142(c) concerns release on conditions. Smith is not eligible for release under § 3143(a)(2) because his offense is not one described in “subparagraph (A), (B), or (C) of subsection (f)(1) of section 3142.” 18 U.S.C. § 3143(a)(2). Because he has been adjudged guilty, Smith bears the burden of proving by clear and convincing evidence that he is not a flight risk or a danger to the community. Hartsell, 448 F.Supp.3d at 977.
I find it unlikely that Smith is a flight risk, having found nothing in his record to indicate as much, but I find that Smith has not proved by clear and convincing evidence that he does not pose a danger to the community if released. Smith has pleaded guilty to a serious crime. During his January 2023 arrest, officers recovered a Glock 23 .40 caliber handgun, 17 .40 caliber rounds, and narcotics and equipment indicative of the sale of narcotics. This is a dangerous weapon and one that Smith knew that he had no business having in his possession. I am sympathetic to Smith's request and the hardship that his incarceration has imposed on his family. But given the circumstances of Smith's arrest and the nature of this crime, I am not convinced that Smith's release before sentencing would not pose a threat to the safety of the community.
ACCORDIINGLY:
Smith's Motion for an Order to Release Defendant to Home Confinement [DE 34] is DENIED.
SO ORDERED.