Opinion
21-20460-CR-BLOOM
04-20-2022
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. IVAN DE JESUS MENDOZA-ALVAREZ, Defendant.
REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION
ALICIA M. OTAZO-BEYES, UNITEDSTATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE.
THIS MATTER was referred to the undersigned for a Garcia Hearing by the Honorable Beth Bloom, United States District Judge, pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 636 and the Magistrate Rules of the Local Rules of the Southern District of Florida [D.E. 20]. The undersigned held a Garcia Hearing on this matter on April 20, 2022.
At the Garcia Hearing, the undersigned conducted a colloquy with Defendant Ivan De Jesus Mendoza-Alvarez (“Defendant Mendoza-Alvarez”) pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 44(c) during which he was advised of his right to separate counsel and the ramifications of waiving that right. Defendant Mendoza-Alvarez stated, under oath, that he understood his right to separate counsel and the ramifications of waiving that right. Further, Oscar Rodriguez, Esq. (“Attorney Rodriguez”) proffered that, should Co-Defendant Antonio Molina (“Co-Defendant Molina”) emerge from his current in extremis medical condition and be able to proceed with his case, Attorney Rodriguez would, if necessary and appropriate, withdraw from his representation of Co-Defendant Molina.
Based on the proceedings held on April 20, 2022, the undersigned finds that the Defendant Mendoza-Alvarez freely and voluntarily waived his right to separate counsel and that Attorney Rodriguez is prepared to cure any issues that may potentially arise upon the resumption of proceedings against Co-Defendant Molina.
Accordingly, it is RESPECFULLY RECOMMENDED that Attorney Rodriguez be permitted to continue to represent Defendant Mendoza-Alvarez through the change of plea hearing scheduled for April 21, 2022, and subsequent sentencing proceedings. At the conclusion of the Garcia Hearing, counsel for the government and for Defendant Mendoza-Alvarez concurred with this recommendation.