by Matthew Russell Lee, Substack
SDNY COURTHOUSE, Sept 25 – In the closing arguments on March 6, 2024 AUSA Tarlow said that narco trafficking had grown under Honduras President Juan Orlando Hernandez. On March 7, out of the hearing of the jury and for then the Press, JOH's lawyer Stabile said he'd heard different overnight.
From who?
The defendant's wife he said.
Was this just a play for a mistrial?
Judge Castel concluded it was, and denied Stabile's motion, Order on Patreon here.
Later on March 8, the verdict, here- then the book Narco Drama in English then Spanish.
On August 28, successor President Xiomara Castro asked Honduran Foreign Minister Enrique Reina to "denounce" the country's extradition treaty with the United States.
Amid that on August 30 Arnaldo Urbina Soto, extradited from Honduras on January 31, 2023 after jail time there, asked for a time served sentence on September 13 at 11 am.
The US Attorney's Office wrote in asking for a 20 year sentence - and on September 12, the eve of sentencing, defense counsel wrote in asking for an eight week adjournment in sentencing, arguing "the government provided cooperating witness testimony that alleges Arnaldo Urbina Soto received bribes from a drug trafficker “in exchange for information from the government” and “in exchange for violence,” among other things. See Gov. Ex. A at 830. This is the first time these issues have been provided to the Court" - letter on Patreon here.
On September 25, sentencing was pushed back to October 3: "ORDER as to Arnaldo Urbina Soto: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the sentencing scheduled for September 25 is adjourned to October 3, 2024, at 3:00 PM (Signed by Judge Denise L. Cote on 9/25/2024)
This case is US v. Soto, et al., 18-cr-497 (Cote)
More on X for Subscribers here and 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
