SDNY COURTHOUSE, Sept 18 – A defendant
living in a Federal halfway house was presented on hate
crime charges on May 7 in the U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York Magistrates Court. Inner
City Press was the only media there, and live
tweeted:
Assistant US Attorney Madison Smyser, one
of the prosecutors in the US v. Sean Combs case, is asking
for detention for hate crime against a gay man.
AUSA Smyser: The defendant pointed and said
You f*cking f*g, get off the f*cking block & punched
him from behind. They chased the victim into the
street; his ear was cut and he had to go to the hospital.
This defendant has 7 prior convictions. In custody, his
record is poor: fighting, violent conduct, smuggling,
drugs. I'll hand up his BOP record
[Does. Neither this nor the detention
letter, unlike in EDNY, is available]
AUSA: Judge Rochon previously sentenced him
to 41 months. He was to get out of the Bronx halfway house
in August. He has been charged with possessing a hazardous
tool. He was not deterred by serving a Federal
sentence.
Magistrate Judge Figueredo: Did they know
each other? AUSA: No.... He's a career offender. So
he's looking at 100 to 125 months. [Defendant is shaking
his head] AUSA: BOP Legal says they may return him to
prison rather than the halfway house, even if you release
him on bail.
Defense lawyer Noam Biale of Sher
Tremonte: He arrived in the halfway house in late
March- Judge: And the incident took place on April
1?
AUSA: Yes. Defense: It's hard to
readjust. He got his Social Security card. He has job
chances at a repair shop & janitorial. He's been in
USP Big Sandy [in Kentucky], there are allegations of the
guards having prisoners fight each other. Here, we'd like
you to order BOP to keep him in the halfway house. His
mother is away in the Bahamas.
AUSA: He was shouting anti-gay slurs
Judge: There are no combination of
condition that could ensure the safety of the community.
This was a random act of violence, that also involved the
language. I order you detained. Adjourned
On May 12 Moore appeared before Judge
Berman - and remained detained.
In August, after Moore's counsel said he
has a trial before Judge Vyskocil in US v Zambrano-Pacheco
(which Inner City Press also covers), Moore's case was
reassigned to Judge Valerie E. Caproni - to whom counsel
on September 18 directed a motion to dismiss, arguing that
the indictment fails to allege that Mr. Moore escaped from
custody and that the indictment's application of the
Escape Statute is unconstitutionally vague and violates
the separation of powers.
The case is now USA v. Shorai Moore,
1:26-cr-172 (Caproni)
