Background
The defendant, Maximiliano Perez-Perez, appealed the district court’s denial of his motion to revoke a magistrate judge’s order for his detention pending trial. He was charged with assaulting a federal officer in violation of Section eighteen of the United States Code, Section one hundred eleven. At the detention hearing, the government presented evidence that officers stopped a work van Perez-Perez was driving. He could not provide identification, failed to exit the vehicle when ordered, fled on foot, struggled with officers, and bit an officer, breaking the skin and drawing blood. He also admitted to being in the United States without inspection for approximately three years with no known ties to the community.
The court’s reasoning
The court reviewed the district court’s determination under an abuse-of-discretion standard. It found that the evidence as a whole supported the conclusion that no conditions of release could reasonably assure Perez-Perez’s appearance at trial. The court noted that while the defendant had no prior criminal record, this fact did not establish character but rather supported the government’s position that he had endeavored to avoid detection. The court held that the district court did not err in considering the defendant’s history of evading apprehension and lack of community ties.
What it means going forward
The decision reinforces that attempts to evade arrest and a lack of community ties are significant factors in pretrial detention determinations, even for defendants without prior criminal records.
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