United States District Court, E.D. Texas, Lufkin Division
FINDINGS OF FACT AND RECOMMENDATION ON GUILTY PLEA
BEFORE THE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
KEITH
F. GIBLIN UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
By
order of the District Court, this matter was referred to the
undersigned United States Magistrate Judge for administration
of a guilty plea and allocution under Rules 11 and 32 of the
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Magistrate judges have
the statutory authority to conduct a felony guilty plea
proceeding as an “additional duty” pursuant to 28
U.S.C. § 636(b)(3). United States v.
Bolivar-Munoz, 313 F.3d 253, 255 (5th Cir.
2002), cert. denied, 123 S.Ct. 1642 (2003). On
February 13, 2018, this cause came before the undersigned
United States Magistrate Judge for entry of a guilty plea by
the defendant, Felix Mendez-Garcia, on
Count One of the charging
Indictment filed in this cause.
Count
One of the Indictment charges that on or about October 25,
2017, in the Eastern District of Texas, Felix Mendez-Garcia,
defendant, an alien, who had previously been denied
admission, excluded, deported, and removed from the United
States on November 29, 2011, after having been convicted of
an aggravated felony, was thereafter found knowingly and
unlawfully present in the United States, that is, in Houston
County, Texas, said defendant having not obtained the consent
of the Attorney General or the Secretary for Homeland
Security of the United States, to reapply for admission into
the United States, in violation of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1326
(a) and (b)(2).
Defendant,
Felix Mendez-Garcia, entered a plea of guilty to Count One of
the Indictment into the record at the hearing.
After
conducting the proceeding in the form and manner prescribed
by Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 11 the Court finds:
a. That Defendant, after consultation with counsel of record,
has knowingly, freely and voluntarily consented to the
administration of the guilty plea in this cause by a United
States Magistrate Judge in the Eastern District of Texas
subject to a final approval and imposition of sentence by the
District Court.
b. That Defendant and the Government have entered into a plea
agreement and a plea agreement addendum which were addressed
in open court and entered into the record.
c. That Defendant is fully competent and capable of entering
an informed plea, that Defendant is aware of the nature of
the charges and the consequences of the plea, and that the
plea of guilty is a knowing, voluntary and freely made plea.
Upon addressing the Defendant personally in open court, the
Court determines that Defendant's plea is voluntary and
did not result from force, threats or promises. See
Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(b)(2).
d. That Defendant's knowing, voluntary and freely made
plea is supported by an independent factual basis
establishing each of the essential elements of the offense
and Defendant realizes that his conduct falls within the
definition of the crimes charged under 8 U.S.C. §§
1326(a) and (b)(2).
STATEMENT
OF REASONS
As
factual support for Defendant's guilty plea, the
Government presented a factual basis. See Factual Basis
and Stipulation. In support, the Government and
Defendant stipulated that if this case were to proceed to
trial the Government would prove beyond a reasonable doubt,
through the sworn testimony of witnesses, including expert
witnesses, as well as through admissible exhibits, each and
every essential element of the crime charged in Count One of
the Indictment. The Government would also prove that the
defendant is one and the same person charged in the
Indictment and that the events described in Indictment
occurred in the Eastern District of Texas and elsewhere. The
Court incorporates the proffer of evidence described in
detail in the factual basis and stipulation in support of the
guilty plea.
Defendant,
Felix Mendez-Garcia, agreed with and stipulated to the
evidence presented in the factual basis. Counsel for
Defendant and the Government attested to Defendant's
competency and capability to enter an informed plea of
guilty. The Defendant agreed with the evidence presented by
the Government and personally testified that he was entering
his guilty plea knowingly, freely and voluntarily.
RECOMMENDED
DISPOSITION
IT
IS THEREFORE the recommendation of the undersigned
United States Magistrate Judge that the District Court accept
the guilty plea of Defendant which the undersigned determines
to be supported by an independent factual basis establishing
each of the essential elements of the offense charged in
Count One of the charging
Indictment on file in this criminal
proceeding. The Court also recommends that the District Court
accept the plea agreement and plea agreement addendum
pursuant to the Local Rules for the United States District
Court for the Eastern District of Texas and Federal Rule of
Criminal Procedure 11(c). Accordingly, it is ...