Opinion
22-14055-CR-CANN/MAYNARD
11-21-2022
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. KWAME HOLMES, Defendant.
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION ON CHANGE OF PLEA
SHANIEK MILLS MAYNARD, UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
THIS CAUSE comes before me upon an Order of Reference. Having conducted a Change of Plea Hearing, I recommend to the District Court as follows:
1. I convened a hearing to permit the Defendant to change his plea in this criminal case on November 18, 2022.
2. I advised the Defendant of his right to have the District Judge assigned to this case conduct this proceeding. I advised that I was conducting the Change of Plea Hearing at the request of the Defendant, the Defendant's attorney, and the Assistant United States Attorney assigned to this case. I advised that the District Judge assigned to this case will be the sentencing judge, will make all findings and rulings concerning the Defendant's sentence, and will schedule and conduct the Sentencing Hearing. I advised the Defendant that he did not have to permit me to conduct this hearing but could request a United States District Judge to conduct the Change of Plea Hearing instead. The Defendant, the Defendant's attorney, and the Assistant United States Attorney assigned to the case all agreed on the record and consented to have a United States Magistrate Judge conduct the Change of Plea Hearing.
3. I conducted the plea colloquy in accordance with the outline set forth in the Bench Book for District Judges.
4. There is a written Plea Agreement which has been entered into by the parties in this case. DE 31. I reviewed that Plea Agreement on the record and had the Defendant acknowledge that he signed the Plea Agreement. The Defendant pleaded guilty to the Indictment which charges him with failure to register as a sex offender, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 2250(a).
5. I reviewed with the Defendant the statutory maximum penalties that the Defendant is facing. The Defendant acknowledged that he understands the statutory penalties that apply in his case.
6. The parties submitted a written Stipulated Factual Basis in Support of Guilty Plea (“Stipulation”), which was signed by counsel for the Government, counsel for the Defendant, and the Defendant. DE 32. The Defendant acknowledged that he signed the Stipulation, understands it, and has had the opportunity to fully discuss it with his attorney. The Defendant agreed that the Stipulation is true and correct, and accurately sets forth the facts in his case as he understands them to be.I find that the Stipulation sets forth each of the essential elements of the crime to which the Defendant is pleading guilty.
According to the Stipulation, Defendant applied to work at ¶ 7-Eleven store and provided an incorrect social security number on the application. DE 32 at 3. Defense counsel clarified on the record that although the social security number was incorrect, Defendant provided an employment identification number.
7. Based on the foregoing and the plea colloquy that I conducted, I find that the Defendant enters his plea of guilty to the Indictment freely and voluntarily. I accept his guilty plea and recommend to the District Court that it adjudicate him guilty as charged in the Indictment.
8. The United States Probation Office will conduct a pre-sentence investigation and will issue a report for sentencing purposes.
ACCORDINGLY, this Court recommends to the District Court that the Defendant's plea of guilty to the Indictment be accepted; that the Defendant be adjudicated guilty of the offense to which he pleads guilty; and that a sentencing hearing be conducted for final disposition of this case.
The parties shall have fourteen (14) days from the date of this Report and Recommendation within which to file objections, if any, with the Honorable Aileen M. Cannon, United States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida. Pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 59(b)(2), failure to file a timely objection to this Report and Recommendation waives the party's right to review, and it bars the party from attacking on appeal any legal rulings or fact findings contained herein.