The Federal prosecutor‘s office considers that the producer Raphy Pina Nieves should remain in prison while his appeal process lasts.
This is how the Public Ministry reacted by opposing Pina Nieves’ request to remain free on bail while it manages his case in the Court of Appeals for the First Federal Circuit in Boston.
The motion, filed by prosecutors José Ruiz and María Montañez, argues that Pina Nieves “has not demonstrated through clear and convincing evidence that he is not likely to abscond or represent a danger to others or a flight risk and that his appeal raises a substantial question of law or fact that is likely to result in, among other things, reversal or a new trial. Therefore, the defendant‘s motion for release pending appeal should be denied.”
During the litigation on the defense’s request in relation to bail, the sentencing hearing has been moved on several occasions. It was originally scheduled for April 1 and is currently scheduled for April 18.
Regarding the alleged danger to the community, the prosecutors stated that the producer was convicted last December of illegal possession of weapons and ammunition, seized after a raid on April 1, 2020, in one of his houses, located in the Caguas Real community complex.
“When weighing the seriousness of the crimes for which the defendant was convicted, it is appropriate that the court consider that ‘violent crimes related to weapons’ are, unfortunately, ‘an acute problem in Puerto Rico,’ “said the Public Ministry.
Meanwhile, he acknowledges that, so far, Pina Nieves has complied with all the bail conditions imposed since he was arrested in August 2020.
However, the prosecutors stressed that, when the verdict was issued, the same court indicated that it was leaving him on bail until sentencing, “but clarified that the defendant has been convicted and there may be a reason for him to escape.”
Among the flight factors, the federal prosecutor pointed out that Pina Nieves has residences in Puerto Rico and Miami “and has access to multiple properties, means of transportation, access to boats that includes a luxurious 2020 yacht that could take him anywhere, goods, monetary resources and contacts.
He also recalled that Pina Nieves was convicted in 2015 of bank fraud and that by being found guilty in this case he showed “that he cannot comply with his prohibition on the possession of weapons by a convict.”
“In addition, the defendant has strong ties in the Dominican Republic both through his father’s inheritance and through his current consensual partner, Mrs. Natalia Gutiérrez (Natti Natasha), who is of Dominican nationality,” prosecutors noted.
They added that “those ties abroad are so deeply rooted in the life of the accused, that he made an extraordinary request to the court on April 13, 2021 so that his wife could give birth in Santiago de Los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, in instead of in the United States because he wanted to.”
“The court should not ignore Pina’s history of deceptive conduct in the past, which includes his prior conviction for bank fraud and the fact that Pina submitted false information to Doral Bank with the specific ‘intent to deceive,'” he added.
