by Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book Substack
SDNY EXCLUSIVE, July 2 – A man named Mullah Mohammad Saleh, a citizen of Bahrain, was extradited to the United States from Greece and appeared in Magistrates Court of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on April 21 at 5 pm.
Inner City Press was there, the only media (the only civilian) in the Mag Court. Saleh's case is sealed, but assigned to District Judge Valerie E. Caproni.
He was assigned a US taxpayer funded lawyer, saying that his income "varies... based on currency exchange rates."
His Federal Defender said she spoke with him in English, but that he speaks two languages including Urdu.
He consented to detention and was led away by the US Marshals.
On February 28, 2024 there was movement: "a status conference in this matter will be held on Friday, May 31, 2024. The Court intends to set a motion schedule and a trial schedule at that conference."
And Judge Caproni did, on May 31: "ORDER as to Mullah Bakhsh Ghulam Mohammad Saleh: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that jury selection and trial in this matter will commence on Monday, August 12, 2024, at 9:00 A.M. The final pretrial conference will be held on Thursday, August 8, 2024 Any pretrial motions are due June 28, 2024. Responses are due July 19, 2024, and replies are due July 26, 2024. Motions in limine are due July 26, 2024, and responses are due August 2, 2024. Requests to charge and proposed voir dire questions are due August 2, 2024. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that time is hereby excluded until August 12, 2024 to permit the Defendant, who requires the assistance of an interpreter, to engage in a meaningful conversation with defense counsel. Time excluded from 5/31/2024 until 8/12/2024."
On June 28 it emerged that Saleh scheduled to plead guilty on July 2.
And he did: "ORDER as to Mullah Bakhsh Ghulam Mohammad Saleh. WHEREAS the parties appeared for a change-of-plea hearing on July 2, 2024; and WHEREAS at the hearing, the Defendant entered a plea of guilty to the lesser included offense of Count One of the Indictment, conspiracy to import 100 grams and more of mixtures and substances containing a detectable amount of heroin, which was accepted by the Court. IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the sentencing hearing in this matter will take place on Monday, November 4, 2024, at 10:30 A.M. in Courtroom 443 of the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse, 40 Foley Square, New York, New York, 10007. The parties' sentencing submissions are due on October 21, 2024."
It is US v. Mohammed Saleh, 22-cr-161 (Caproni)
More on Substack here.
***
Your support means a lot. As little as $5 a month helps keep us going and grants you access to exclusive bonus material on our Patreon page. Click here to become a patron.
Feedback: Editorial [at] innercitypress.com
