| Defendant Charged With
Robbery of Marijuana Supplier Now
Co-D Pleads Guilty
by
Matthew Russell Lee, Patreon Book
Substack SDNY
COURTHOUSE,
March 17 รข€“ Charged with
the armed robbery of a
marijuana supplier - in which
the supplier got shot - a
defendant was presented and
had a bond hearing on March 19
before U.S. District Court for
the Southern District of New
York Magistrate Judge Gary
Stein. Inner City Press was
there, the only media in the
SDNY Mag Court, thread:
Defendant is
charged with armed robbery "of
an NYC marijuana business'
storage facility," using a
gun, trafficking drugs. Judge: Mr. Ali,
how do you plead? Arian Ali:
Not guilty. AUSA: We are
seeking detention. Defense: We
are requesting release. I have
five suretors, and I propose a
bond of $200,000. My client
wasn't there, where the
robbery was occurring. I'm not
sure where these allegations
are coming from. No drugs were
stolen on June 22, 2023-
Judge: They allege a
conspiracy to steal. Judge: I've
discussed this further with
the Pre Trial Services
supervisor who is here. I do
not think this is a risk of
flight case. I would not order
the defendant detained on that
ground. There would be a
bond... Judge: The real
issue is danger. I view this
as a close call. I find the
government has not met its
burden. Given that the drug
trafficking involved marijuana
- & that some of the
conduct now alleged is not in
the indictment - I will
release you on $200,000 bond. On October 18, a
co-defendant asked for
reconsideration of detention.
Thread: Defense lawyer:
My client saw someone bleed
out in the MDC jail. I had
another client this mornong
[Gupta] whose been in MDC lock
down for 2 weeks. AUSA: All they
have are bank records showing
a $18,000 one way trip after
the others were arrested. Judge: There's
incentive to flee 15 year
mandatory minimum, and
apparently the resources to do
so. I deny bail. Jump cut to June
5, 2025 when Ali's lawyer
wrote in for a modification of
bond conditions for the next
day, Eid. Judge Koeltl
approved it the same day. On August 8, a
letter from co-defendant Suhan
was docketed in which he asked
for new counsel, saying he
does not want to plead guilty
despite being encouraged to. On March 17, 2025
co-defendant Ali pled guilty,
with sentencing set for July
1. The case is USA v. Khan, et al., 1:24-cr-109 (Koeltl)
*** 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 Mail: Box 130222 NY NY 10013 Reporter's mobile (and weekends): 718-716-3540 Other, earlier Inner City Press are listed here, and some are available in the ProQuest service, and now on Lexis-Nexis. Copyright 2006-2025 Inner City
Press, Inc. To request reprint or other
permission, e-contact Editorial [at]
innercitypress.com |
Friday, March 20, 2026
Defendant Charged With Robbery of Marijuana Supplier Now Co-D Pleads Guilty
