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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

 SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA 

 CASE NO. 20-MJ-6363-SNOW 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 

v. 

LUIS ALBERTO PATINO LINARES and

GREGORI JERSON MENDEZ PALACIOS, 

 Defendants.

________________________________________/ 

JOINT MOTION TO CONTINUE ARRAIGNMENTS 

The United States of America, by and through the undersigned Assistant United States 

Attorney, moves this Honorable Court for entry of an Order granting a continuance of the 

arraignments scheduled in the above-captioned matter. In support of this Motion, the United States 

offers the following: 

1. On August 16, 2020, United States Magistrate Judge Lurana S. Snow of the 

Southern District of Florida signed a criminal complaint that charged defendants Patino Linares 

and Mendez Palacios with Smuggling Goods from the United States, in violation of Title 18, 

United States Code, Section 554 and Alien in Possession of Firearms, in violation of Title 18, 

United States Code, Section 922(g)(5). Defendant Mendez Palacios was additionally charged 

with Bulk Cash Smuggling Out of the United States, in violation of Title 31, United States Code, 

Section 5332 (DE 1). 

2. On August 21, 2020, both defendants appeared before Magistrate Judge Snow, at 

which time she entered a finding of probable cause as to both defendants in accordance with Rule 

5.1, Fed.R.Crim.P. (DE 9, 10). 

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3. On March 13, 2020, the President of the United States issued a proclamation 

declaring a National Emergency in response to the Coronavirus Disease-19 (“COVID-19”) 

pandemic pursuant to the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. § 1601, et seq.). (see

Administrative Order 2020-23, Southern District of Florida). To date, there are over 5,800,000 

confirmed cases in the United States alone (see https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html). Of the 

positive cases within the United States, over 170,000 individuals have died (see id.). 

4. On August 11, 2020, Chief Judge K. Michael Moore of the Southern District of 

Florida issued his most recent Order, Administrative Order 2020-53, in response to the current 

pandemic. Specifically, Chief Judge Moore ordered that all grand jury sessions are continued until 

January 4, 2021. Of importance is that Chief Judge Moore found that “the ends of justice served 

by taking this action [continuing all grand jury sessions until January 4, 2021] outweigh the 

interests of the parties and the public in a speedy trial because the continuance of grand jury 

sessions in this district renders it unreasonable to expect the return and filing of an indictment 

within the period set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3161(b)” (see Administrative Order 2020-53, p 4). Thus, 

this period is excluded under the Speedy Trial Act. 

5. The undersigned has consulted with Jose Teurbe-Tolon, who represents defendant 

Patino Linares, and with Jay White, who represents defendant Mendez Palacios, and is authorized 

to represent that both defendants join in the instant Motion. 

WHEREFORE, the United States respectfully requests that this Court enter an Order 

xxxxxx

 

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continuing the arraignments in this case and requests an arraignment date of January 22, 2021. 

Respectfully submitted, 

ARIANA FAJARDO ORSHAN 

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY 

 By /s/ Lawrence D. LaVecchio 

LAWRENCE D. LaVECCHIO 

Assistant United States Attorney 

Florida Bar No. 0305405 

500 E. Broward Blvd., Suite 700 

Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33394 

Tel. (954) 660-5788/356-7230-fax 

lawrence.lavecchio@usdoj.gov

CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I HEREBY CERTIFY that on August 27, 2020, I electronically filed the foregoing 

document with the Clerk of the Court using CM/ECF. 

 

__/s/ Lawrence D. LaVecchio __

LAWRENCE D. LaVECCHIO 

Assistant United States Attorney 

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