Opinion ID: 785776
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: The Criminal Complaint Against Gaskin and Subsequent Indictment

Text: 36 Later that same day, Gaskin was arraigned in the United States District Court for the Western District of New York on a criminal complaint charging: 37 On or about June 4 and June 17, 1999[,] ... defendant did, agree and conspire with another individual to have a quantity of marijuana ... transported from the State of Arizona to Rochester, New York, and did then attempt to possess said marijuana with intent to distribute it in violation of Title 21 United States Code, Sections 846 and 841(a)(1). 38 Compl. at 1. The only conspiratorial agreement described in the supporting agent's affidavit is the one between Gaskin and Shaw to transport a single load of approximately 100 pounds of marijuana from Arizona in June 1999. Compl. Aff. ¶¶ 9-10. Similarly, the only attempted possession of marijuana referenced in the affidavit relates to the four bundles concealed in the motor home. 39 Gaskin pleaded not guilty to the complaint and was detained. Six days later, on June 23, he was released on bail subject to electronic monitoring. No indictment was returned within thirty days of Gaskin's arrest; nor did the government move to dismiss the complaint within that time. Instead, the docket sheet indicates that in early August 1999, Gaskin changed counsel, and through October of that year, the parties wrangled over the conditions of Gaskin's continued release. Thereafter, no filings or court proceedings are noted until November 21, 2000, when Gaskin moved to dismiss the complaint for violation of the Speedy Trial Act's requirement that an indictment be filed within thirty days of arrest. See 18 U.S.C. §§ 3161(b), 3162(a)(1). 40 In fact, that same day, the grand jury voted a sealed indictment charging Gaskin, Castle, and Cruickshank with participation in a broad marijuana transportation conspiracy spanning almost two years and involving more than 100 kilograms of contraband. With respect to the Shaw transport, Count Six of the indictment charged Gaskin with actual possession of the marijuana in the motor home, rather than the attempted possession charged in the complaint. 41 In an omnibus defense motion filed March 1, 2001, Gaskin renewed his Speedy Trial Act challenge to his prosecution, this time seeking dismissal of the indictment — or at least the charges contained in Counts One and Six. Relying on this court's decision in United States v. Napolitano, 761 F.2d 135, 137-38 (2d Cir.1985), the district court declined to dismiss the indictment, finding that the charges contained therein were not the same as those alleged in the complaint. Specifically, the court ruled that the marijuana possession charged in Count Six was not the same offense as the attempted possession charged in the complaint. Trial Tr., June 21, 2001, at 7. Further, applying factors relevant to double jeopardy review of successive conspiracy charges, see United States v. Korfant, 771 F.2d 660, 662 (2d Cir.1985) (per curiam), the court concluded that the marijuana conspiracy charged in Count One was not the same conspiracy charged in the complaint. See United States v. Gaskin, 00-CR-6148, 2002 WL 459005, at - (W.D.N.Y. Jan.8, 2002).