Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_13-cr-00274/USCOURTS-cand-4_13-cr-00274-1/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Darrell Hargrove
Defendant
USA
Plaintiff

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United States District Court

Northern District of California

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff,

v.

DARRELL HARGROVE,

Defendant.

Case No. 13-cr-00274-YGR-1 (KAW)

CORRECTED ORDER GRANTING 

DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR 

TEMPORARY RELEASE

A renewed detention hearing regarding the release of Defendant Darrell Hargrove was held 

on April 10, 2020 based on changed circumstances arising out of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Hargrove was convicted of one count of possession of cocaine, with intent to distribute. On 

January 22, 2019, a petition alleging violations of his supervised release conditions was filed, and 

on February 12, 2020, the court ordered Mr. Hargrove detained, finding that he failed to meet his 

burden to show by clear and convincing evidence that he was not a flight risk or danger to the 

community. (Dkt. No. 43.)

Mr. Hargrove moved to re-open the detention hearing, under 18 U.S.C. § 3142(i), for 

temporary release from custody. On April 10, 2020, the Court found that compelling reasons 

existed for Hargrove’s temporary release from custody and ordered that he be temporarily released 

to additional conditions. (Dkt. No. 58.) In the Court’s effort to timely issue the order, however, 

the Court applied the wrong standard; 18 U.S.C. § 3143 governs post-conviction release or 

detention. Applying this standard, the Court FINDS that Hargrove has established by clear and 

convincing evidence that he is not a flight risk nor a danger to the community.1 Accordingly, the

1

It does not appear the Government argues that Plaintiff’s detention is mandatory per § 

3143(a)(2). (See Dkt. No. 57 at 9.) Even if § 3143(a)(2) applied, the Court would find that 

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United States District Court

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Court ORDERS Hargrove to be temporarily released subject to the additional conditions detailed 

at the end of this order, which includes 24-hour home detention and electronic location monitoring 

as administered by the Probation Department.

Mr. Hargrove is detained at Santa Rita County Jail, an Alameda County facility in Dublin, 

California, under contract with the United States Marshals Service. This “mega jail” is the third 

largest facility in California and the fifth largest in the nation. (See Babu et al. v. Ahern et al., Case

No. 18-cv-07677-NC, Dkt. No. 61.) It houses inmates in all classification levels including federal 

detainees. Id. Over 29,000 inmates are booked into Santa Rita each year. (Id.) As of April 9, 

2020, Santa Rita houses 1,979 inmates. (See Covid-19 Updates, ALAMEDA COUNTY SHERIFF’S 

OFFICE, (April 13, 2020 at1:24 p.m.), 

https://www.alamedacountysheriff.org/admin_covid19.php.)2

As of April 12, 2020, fifteen inmates at Santa Rita Jail have tested positive for COVID-19. 

(See Covid-19 Updates.) Twenty-one inmates are currently categorized as “red,” meaning that 

they are “displaying symptoms consistent with COVID-19.” (Id.) Fifty-one inmates are 

categorized as “orange,” meaning that they are “considered at increased risk for COVID-19 

complications (pregnant, older than 65, chronic medical conditions).” (Id.) Eight housing units 

consisting of twelve total pods are categorized as “yellow,” meaning that have had contact with 

known or suspected COVID-19 and therefore are placed under 14-day quarantine. (Id.) Santa Rita 

has conducted 58 tests for the virus: 40 were negative, 15 were positive, and 3 await results. (Id.) 

A nurse assigned to the jail, as well as a second staff member, have tested positive for COVID-19. 

(Id.; see also Angela Ruggiero, Alameda County Jail Reports Nurse has Tested Positive for 

Coronavirus, MERCURY NEWS (Mar. 27, 2020, 5:09 AM),

https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/03/26/alameda-county-jail-reports-first-coronaviruscasea-nurse/.

Plaintiff should still be released per § 3145(c), as Hargrove’s unusually high risk to COVID-19

due to his underlying health conditions is an exceptional reason why detention is no longer

appropriate.

2 These facts/statistics are taken directly from the release order issued by the Honorable Judge 

Cousins in 19-cr-00709-LHK, and the statistics have been verified as current through today.

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18 U.S.C. § 3143(a) mandates detention unless the Court “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 . . . .” Hargrove argues that the COVID-19 pandemic constitutes a 

compelling reason for his release. He contends that his health conditions, which include obesity 

and severe asthma, render him at risk for serious complications should he contract COVID-19.

The court agrees.

Specifically, Mr. Hargrove has been struggling with chronic asthma since his incarceration. 

He uses an inhaler while in custody, and when he was out of custody, he had an additional oxygen 

treatment every three months to open his lungs. He contracted pneumonia while in custody in 

December 2019, and in January 2020, he lost consciousness, fell and injured his head, due to 

asthma. He was placed in a special quarantine unit because of his symptoms, and although he 

tested negative for Covid-19, he remains at risk due to exposure to others in the jail. He was also 

diagnosed with persistent bronchitis. Mr. Hargrove also suffers from obesity – being 6’6” tall and 

weighing 350 pounds.

Due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the country is in “extraordinary times.” In re 

Extradition of Alejandro Toledo Manrique, Case No. 19-mc-71055-TSH, 2020 WL 1307109 

(N.D. Cal. Mar. 19, 2020). This is a global crisis with exponentially increasing infections and 

hundreds of thousands of deaths. The President of the United States has declared a National 

Emergency. (See Proclamation No. 9994, 85 Fed. Reg. 15,337 (Mar. 13, 2020).) Community 

transmission of the virus is widespread in the State of California, which has one of the largest 

numbers of confirmed cases in the country. See Cases in U.S., CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL 

AND PREVENTION, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/cases-in-us.html. 

California Governor Gavin Newsom has issued an Executive Order declaring a State of 

Emergency and directing all Californians to stay home to minimize public interaction. (See 

Executive Order N-33-20, Exec. Dep’t State of Cal. (Mar. 19, 2020), available at

https://covid19.ca.gov/img/N-33-20.pdf.) Counties in the San Francisco Bay Area have instituted 

and extended shelter-in-place orders requiring social distancing; local schools and businesses are 

closed.

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Our Court has since closed three of its four courthouses, vacated criminal and civil trials, 

suspended grand jury proceedings, restricted in-person use of its facilities, and limited its 

operations. (See General Order 72 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 16, 2020); General Order 73 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 

16, 2020), amended on Apr. 2, 2020, available at 

https://www.cand.uscourts.gov/rules/generalorders/.) These restrictions aim to follow guidance 

from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”) recommending frequent handwashing, avoiding close contact with other people, cleaning and disinfecting frequently-touched 

items and surfaces as much as possible, and avoiding groups of more than 10 people. (See How to 

Protect Yourself & Others, CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL AND PREVENTION, (Apr. 8, 2020), 

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html.)

As is now clear, the COVID-19 pandemic has reached U.S. jails and prisons. (See, e.g., 

Timothy Williams, et al., ‘Jails are Petri Dishes’, NEW YORK TIMES (Mar. 31, 2020), 

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/30/us/coronavirus-prisons-jails.html (noting -- as of March 30, 

2020—over one hundred positive tests for coronavirus at Cook County jail in Chicago, almost 80 

positive tests in Michigan prisons, nearly 200 cases at Rikers Island jail complex in New York, 

and almost forty cases in federal prisons including one death at the Bureau of Prison’s Oakdale, 

Louisiana facility); see also United States v. Garlock, Case No. 18-cr-00418-VC, 2020 WL 

1439980, at *1 (“The chaos has already begun inside federal prisons—inmates and prison 

employees are starting to test positive for the virus, quarantines are being instituted, visits from 

outsiders have been suspended, and inmate movement is being restricted even more than usual”) 

(citing Zusha Elinson et al., Jails Release Prisoners, Fearing Coronavirus Outbreak, THE WALL 

STREET JOURNAL (Mar. 22, 2020, 10:00 AM), https://www.wsj.com/articles/jails-releaseprisoners-fearing-coronavirus-outbreak-11584885600).) The Court takes notice of the information 

presented by the United States Bureau of Prisons at www.BOP.gov under its COVID-19 response 

tab. As of April 9, BOP reported 283 inmates and 125 staff diagnosed with the virus and 8 inmate 

deaths.

At the hearing, the Government, after reviewing Hargrove’s medical records, did not 

dispute that Hargrove’s custodial situation puts him at a meaningfully higher risk of contracting 

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COVID-19. Indeed, jails and prisons present extraordinarily dangerous conditions for the spread 

of the virus. (See United States v. Stephens, 2020 WL 1295155 (citing Joseph A. Bick, Infection 

Control in Jails and Prisons, 45 Clinical Infections Diseases 1047 (Oct. 2007)), which found that 

the “probability of transmission of potentially pathogenic organisms is increased by crowding, 

delays in medical evaluation and treatment, rationed access to soap, water, and clean laundry, 

[and] insufficient infection-control expertise”); see also Xochihua-Jaimes v. Barr, Case No. 18-cv71560 (9th Cir. Mar. 24, 2020) (stating that “public health authorities predict” the “rapidly 

escalating public health crisis” “will especially impact immigration detention centers”).) “Social 

distancing and proper hygiene are the only effective means by which we can stop the spread of 

COVID-19”—and in no place is ensuring these means more “difficult, if not impossible,” than in 

detention centers. Thakker v. Doll, Case No. 20-cv-480-JEJ, Dkt. No. 47 at 21 (M.D. Pa. Mar. 31, 

2020); United States v. Gorbman, Case No. 18-cr-20989, Dkt. No. 397 (S.D. Fla. Mar. 29, 2020).

Dr. Brie Williams, Professor of Medicine at UCSF with expertise in health issues affecting 

prisons, recently opined that “[b]ecause inmates live in close quarters, there is an extraordinarily 

high risk of accelerated transmission of COVD-19 within jails and prisons.” See United States v. 

McCoy, Case No. 19-cr-00067-JD, Dkt. No. 94, Ex. 2 (Affidavit of Brie Williams, M.D.) at 3. Dr. 

Williams states that because “[i]nmates share small cells, eat together and use the same bathrooms 

and sinks,” “social distancing in most facilities [is] virtually impossible . . . compounded by 

inadequate sanitation, such as a lack of hand sanitizer or sufficient opportunities to wash hands.” 

Id.

Mr. Hargrove argues that his health conditions render him particularly susceptible to 

serious complications should he contract COVID-19. In particular, the CDC has concluded that 

individuals with severe obesity and moderate to severe asthma may be “at higher risk for severe 

illness from COVID-19.” (Groups at Higher Risk for Severe Illness, CENTER FOR DISEASE 

CONTROL AND PREVENTION (Apr. 2, 2020), https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/needextra-precautions/groups-at-higherrisk.html.) The necessarily close quarters and limited hygienic 

options for inmates of the Jail increases their risk of infection, which in turn risks the wellbeing of 

jail staff, their families, and the general community. Other courts and government officials have 

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recognized that inmates are at particular risk for contracting COVID-19. Alameda County 

officials, for example, have released over 200 inmates from Santa Rita and the total Santa Rita 

inmate population has been decreased by more than 500 since March 1. (See Megan Cassidy, 

Alameda County Releases 250 Jail Inmates Amid Coronavirus Concerns, SF to Release 26, SAN 

FRANCISCO CHRONICLE (Mar. 20, 2020, 11:21 PM), 

https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/Alameda-County-releases-250-jail-inmates-amid15147332.php. See also, Alene Tchekmedyian, et al., L.A. County Releasing Some Inmates from 

Jail to Combat Coronavirus, LOS ANGELES TIMES (Mar. 16, 2020, 7:25 PM), 

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-03-16/la-jail-population-arrests-down-amidcoronavirus (Los Angeles County jail population reduced by 600 individuals over two weeks); 

Aprile Rickert, Officials Thin Jail Population to Prevent Spread of COVID-19, NEWS AND 

TRIBUNE (Mar. 23, 2020), https://www.newsandtribune.com/news/officialsthin-jail-population-toprevent-spread-of-covid/article_b3899a6c-6ad8-11ea-8fea-072a24324cc4.html (Indiana counties 

reduce jail populations to ensure further distance between inmates); Letter to Montana Courts of 

Limited Jurisdiction Judges (Mont. Sup. Ct. Mar. 20, 2020), available at 

https://courts.mt.gov/Portals/189/virus/Ltr%20to%20COLJ%20Judges%20re%20COVID19%20032020.pdf (Chief Justice of Montana Supreme Court instructing judges to “release, 

without bond, as many prisoners as you are able” because “due to the confines of [correctional] 

facilities, it will be virtually impossible to contain the spread of the virus”).)

The Court FINDS that the unprecedented, extremely serious health risk posed by continued 

detention, exacerbated by Hargrove’s health conditions, affects the Court’s consideration of 

whether Hargrove constitutes a risk of flight and danger to the community. Although the Court 

previously found that Hargrove constituted a risk of flight and danger to the community, the 

COVID-19 pandemic and the reported infections at Santa Rita Jail changes the calculus. Hargrove 

now has serious, potentially life-threatening incentives to obey the conditions of his release. Not 

only will Hargrove be incentivized to comply with the conditions of his release to temporarily 

remain out of jail, Hargrove is further incentivized to remain in place and avoid social contact lest 

he contracts COVID-19. These changed conditions mitigate Hargrove’s risk of flight and danger, 

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such that the Court can find that Hargrove is no longer a risk of flight or danger to the community.

For these reasons, the Court ORDERS Hargrove temporarily released into the custody of 

his wife, Edie Hargrove, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3143 under the following conditions:

• Hargrove is subject to 24-hour home incarceration to be enforced by location 

monitoring technology to be determined by Probation. Hargrove may leave the 

residence only for necessary medical services with the prior approval of Probation. 

He may not change his residence without advance approval of Probation.

• Hargrove shall be remanded back into custody on June 9 (which is 60 days from 

the Court’s previous order), subject to extension by further Court order. Pretrial 

Services must make a recommendation to the Court by June 2 as to whether the 

time period of temporary release should be extended.

• Hargrove must maintain video and telephone conferencing capabilities to allow for 

remote or virtual monitoring by Probation.

• Hargrove must report and disclose to Pretrial Services when any cohabitant, 

including himself, exhibits any symptom of any illness.

• Hargrove must comply with the Shelter-in-Place order issued by California 

Governor Gavin Newsom, dated March 19, 2020, and any further extensions of that 

order. See Executive Order N-33-20, Exec. Dep’t State of Cal. (Mar. 19, 2020).

The Court sets a further telephonic conference for April 24, 2020, at 1:30 p.m. to 

determine whether any additional conditions of release, or modifications, are appropriate.

This temporary release order is effective immediately and will be communicated to the 

USMS, Santa Rita Jail, and Pretrial Services.

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: April 13, 2020

__________________________________

KANDIS A. WESTMORE

United States Magistrate Judge

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