Opinion
MJ23-099
03-08-2023
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. ALICIA PARKS, Defendant.
DETENTION ORDER
S. KATE VAUGHAN United States Magistrate Judge
Offenses charged:
1. Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances
Date of Detention Hearing: March 8, 2023.
The Court, having conducted a detention hearing pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §3142(f) and based upon the factual findings and statement of reasons for detention hereafter set forth, finds that no condition or combination of conditions which Defendant can meet will reasonably assure the appearance of Defendant as required and the safety of other persons and the community.
FINDINGS OF FACT AND STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR DETENTION
1. Defendant has been charged with a drug offense, the maximum penalty of which is in excess of ten years. There is therefore a rebuttable presumption against defendant as to both dangerousness and flight risk, under 18 U.S.C. § 3142(e). Defendant is alleged to have had an instrumental role in a multi-state drug trafficking organization (DTO) between this district, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. Defendant allegedly transported large amounts of cash to Arizona and while there, organized drug couriers to traffic large amounts of fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana to this district and elsewhere. Law enforcement seized approximately twenty-seven kilos of fentanyl during the investigation, and wiretap evidence suggests trafficking of approximately one million fentanyl pills and other substances over a twenty-day period. It is also alleged that Defendant used a false identity to conspire with another codefendant to acquire rental properties for the purpose of storing cash and drugs for the DTO. At arrest in SeaTac, Washington, Defendant was found with approximately $73,000.00 in cash. Search of her residence in Kent, Washington recovered a fully automatic pistol equipped with a silencer, an AR-15 magazine, and a magazine for a 5.7 pistol. Defendant allegedly contacted others to conceal potential evidence in her residence and the home of a co-defendant.
2. Defendant poses a risk of flight and a danger to the community. Defendant poses a flight risk because of her extensive travel as part of the DTO, access to funds, and her failure to appear for court proceedings in the past. Defendant currently has two outstanding warrants more than two years old. She is known to use an alias and false identity and was found in possession of large amounts of cash, indicating she has the resources to support flight from prosecution. Furthermore, Defendant is required to appear in the Western District of Pennsylvania where she has no ties for a charge that carries a ten-year mandatory minimum sentence. Defendant also poses a danger to community. She had access to firearms, she allegedly obstructed justice by contacting persons to interfere with the search of her and a codefendant's residence, and she minimized her role in the DTO which was later contradicted. The weight of the evidence is also strong.
3. There does not appear to be any condition or combination of conditions that will reasonably assure the defendant's appearance at future Court hearings while addressing the danger to other persons or the community.
It is therefore ORDERED:
1. Defendant shall be detained pending transfer to the Western District of Pennsylvania, and committed to the custody of the Attorney General for confinement in a correction facility separate, to the extent practicable, from persons awaiting or serving sentences or being held in custody pending appeal;
2. Defendant shall be afforded reasonable opportunity for private consultation with counsel;
3. On order of the United States or on request of an attorney for the Government, the person in charge of the corrections facility in which defendant is confined shall deliver the defendant to a United States Marshal for the purpose of an appearance in connection with a court proceeding; and
4. The Clerk shall direct copies of this Order to counsel for the United States, to counsel for the defendant, to the United States Marshal, and to the United State Probation Services Officer.
DATED this 8th day of March, 2023.