Court filing
Transcript of Trial Day 18 as to Eric Dean Sheppard held on 01/12/2024 — USA v. Sheppard (Dkt. 324, S.D. Fla.)
Filed February 25, 2025 in USA v. Sheppard; one of 253 filings from this case.
Record facts
| Court | U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida |
|---|---|
| Filed | 2025-02-25 |
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida · No. 1:22-cr-20290-BB · Doc. 324 · 2025-02-25 · Docket on CourtListener
Full text
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Yvette Hernandez, Official Court Reporter
400 North Miami Avenue, 10-2
Miami, Florida 33128
(305) 523-5698
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
MIAMI DIVISION
CASE NO. 1:22-cr-20290-BB-1
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff,
January 12, 2024
3:03 p.m.
vs.
ERIC DEAN SHEPPARD,
Defendant.
Pages 1 THROUGH 14
______________________________________________________________
TRANSCRIPT OF TRIAL DAY 18
BEFORE THE HONORABLE BETH BLOOM
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
And a Jury of 12
Appearances:
FOR THE GOVERNMENT: UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
AIMEE C. JIMENEZ, AUSA
ANA MARIA MARTINEZ, AUSA
99 Northeast 4th Street
Miami, Florida 33132
FOR THE DEFENDANT: SALE & WEINTRAUB, PA
JAYNE C. WEINTRAUB, ESQ.
2 South Biscayne Boulevard, 21st Floor
Miami, Florida 33131
NELSON MULLINS
JONATHAN ETRA, ESQ.
CHRISTOPHER C. CAVALLO, ESQ.
2 South Biscayne Boulevard, 21st Floor
Miami, Florida 33131
COURT REPORTER: Yvette Hernandez
U.S. District Court
400 North Miami Avenue, Room 10-2
Miami, Florida 33128
yvette_hernandez@flsd.uscourts.gov
ALSO PRESENT: Special Agent Sarah Halleran
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Case 1:22-cr-20290-BB Document 324 Entered on FLSD Docket 02/25/2025 Page 1 of 14
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Yvette Hernandez, Official Court Reporter
400 North Miami Avenue, 10-2
Miami, Florida 33128
(305) 523-5698
I N D E X
Certificate..................................... 14
Jury Verdict ................................... 4
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Case 1:22-cr-20290-BB Document 324 Entered on FLSD Docket 02/25/2025 Page 2 of 14
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Yvette Hernandez, Official Court Reporter
400 North Miami Avenue, 10-2
Miami, Florida 33128
(305) 523-5698
(Call to order of the Court, 3:03 p.m.)
THE COURT: Good afternoon to everyone.
Let me acknowledge the presence of the Defendant.
Go ahead and have a seat for just a moment.
I did receive a note from the jury that states: "We
have a decision," signed at 2:56 p.m.
Are there any issues we need to address before we
bring the jury in? On behalf of the Government?
MS. JIMENEZ: No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: On behalf of the Defendant?
MS. WEINTRAUB: No.
THE COURT: All right, then.
COURT SECURITY OFFICER: All rise for the jury.
(Before the Jury, 3:28 p.m.)
THE COURT: All right. Welcome back, Ladies and
Gentlemen.
Please be seated, everyone.
I have received a note from the jury that states as
follows: "We have a decision," signed by the foreperson at
2:56 p.m.
If the foreperson will provide the Verdict Form to the
court security officer, who will provide it to me.
Thank you.
(Verdict Form provided.)
(Pause in proceedings.)
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Case 1:22-cr-20290-BB Document 324 Entered on FLSD Docket 02/25/2025 Page 3 of 14
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Yvette Hernandez, Official Court Reporter
400 North Miami Avenue, 10-2
Miami, Florida 33128
(305) 523-5698
THE COURT: I find the Verdict Form is legally
sufficient. There are no inconsistencies, errors, or
omissions, and I ask the courtroom deputy to publish the
verdict at this time.
COURTROOM DEPUTY: "United States District Court,
Southern District of Florida, Case Number 22-20290.
"United States of America v. Eric Sheppard.
"Verdict Form.
"We, the jury, unanimously find the Defendant Eric
Dean Sheppard, as to Count 1 of the Superseding Indictment, not
guilty.
"As to Count 2 of the Superseding Indictment, not
guilty.
"As to Count 3 of the Superseding Indictment, not
guilty.
"As to Count 4 of the Superseding Indictment, not
guilty.
"As to Count 5 of the Superseding Indictment, guilty.
"As to Count 6 of the Superseding Indictment, not
guilty.
"As to Count 7 of the Superseding Indictment, guilty.
"As to Count 8 of the Superseding Indictment, guilty.
"As to Count 9 of the Superseding Indictment, guilty.
"As to Count 10 of the Superseding Indictment, not
guilty.
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Case 1:22-cr-20290-BB Document 324 Entered on FLSD Docket 02/25/2025 Page 4 of 14
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Yvette Hernandez, Official Court Reporter
400 North Miami Avenue, 10-2
Miami, Florida 33128
(305) 523-5698
"As to Count 11 of the Superseding Indictment, not
guilty.
"As to Count 12 of the Superseding Indictment, not
guilty.
"As to Count 13 of the Superseding Indictment, guilty.
"As to Count 14 of the Superseding Indictment, guilty.
"So say we all," signed by the foreperson on today's
date.
THE COURT: Thank you, Liz.
Does either side wish the jury to be polled?
MS. WEINTRAUB: Yes, Your Honor. We'd like them
polled.
COURTROOM DEPUTY: Members of the Jury, as I ask you
the following question, please answer out loud yes or no.
Ruth Lane, is the verdict as read your true verdict?
JUROR NUMBER 1: Yes.
COURTROOM DEPUTY: Carlton McEkron, is the verdict as
read your true verdict?
JUROR NUMBER 2: Yes.
COURTROOM DEPUTY: Alexis Pelaez, is the verdict as
read your true verdict?
JUROR NUMBER 4: Yes.
COURTROOM DEPUTY: Rebecca Perez, is the verdict as
read your true verdict?
JUROR NUMBER 5: Yes.
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Case 1:22-cr-20290-BB Document 324 Entered on FLSD Docket 02/25/2025 Page 5 of 14
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Yvette Hernandez, Official Court Reporter
400 North Miami Avenue, 10-2
Miami, Florida 33128
(305) 523-5698
COURTROOM DEPUTY: Arturo Reboredo, is the verdict as
read your true verdict?
JUROR NUMBER 6: Yes.
COURTROOM DEPUTY: Yaileen Gonzalez, is the verdict as
read your true verdict?
JUROR NUMBER 8: Yes.
COURTROOM DEPUTY: David Mejia, is the verdict as read
your true verdict?
JUROR NUMBER 9: Yes.
COURTROOM DEPUTY: Erik Rivera, is the verdict as read
your true verdict?
JUROR NUMBER 10: Yes.
COURTROOM DEPUTY: Mirna Ochoa, is the verdict as read
your true verdict?
JUROR NUMBER 11: Yes.
COURTROOM DEPUTY: Evelyn Zaldivar, is the verdict as
read your true verdict?
JUROR NUMBER 12: Yes.
COURTROOM DEPUTY: Forgive me. Lodewijk Opdeweegh, is
the verdict as read your true verdict?
JUROR NUMBER 13: Yes.
COURTROOM DEPUTY: John Dunlop, is the verdict as read
your true verdict?
JUROR NUMBER 14: Yes.
COURTROOM DEPUTY: The jury has been polled.
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Case 1:22-cr-20290-BB Document 324 Entered on FLSD Docket 02/25/2025 Page 6 of 14
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Yvette Hernandez, Official Court Reporter
400 North Miami Avenue, 10-2
Miami, Florida 33128
(305) 523-5698
THE COURT: Are there any items the attorneys wish to
address before I give comments to the jury and discharge the
jury?
MS. WEINTRAUB: Not from the Defense, Your Honor.
MS. JIMENEZ: Not from the Government, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Ladies and Gentlemen, I thank you for your
time and attention to this case. Certainly you have been here
for some time, and you have been diligent in your work, and for
that I thank you.
I also want to advise you of some very special
privileges enjoyed by jurors. No juror can ever be required to
talk about the discussions that occurred in the jury room,
except by court order. For many centuries, our society has
relied upon juries for consideration of difficult cases, and we
have recognized for hundreds of years that a jury's
deliberation, decision, and vote remain your own private
affair. A request may come from those who are simply curious
or from those who may seek to find fault with you.
As the days and weeks follow, I hope you will reflect
upon your service. And certainly it was a small inconvenience
to each of you, but it was a large contribution to our system
of justice, and for that I personally thank you.
We do have a very small token of the great
appreciation that we have for the time and attention that you
have spent on this case. It is a certificate of appreciation
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Case 1:22-cr-20290-BB Document 324 Entered on FLSD Docket 02/25/2025 Page 7 of 14
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Yvette Hernandez, Official Court Reporter
400 North Miami Avenue, 10-2
Miami, Florida 33128
(305) 523-5698
that does memorialize the time that you have spent with us.
You have completed your work, and you are discharged
with the thanks of the Court.
Have a pleasant afternoon, a pleasant weekend, and a
happy and healthy new year.
COURT SECURITY OFFICER: All rise for the jury.
(Jury excused, 3:36 p.m.)
THE COURT: Have a seat, please.
Eric Sheppard, consistent with the jury's verdict,
with respect to Counts 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 11, and 12, having
found you not guilty, you are forever discharged from further
prosecution with regard to those charges.
Consistent with the jury's verdict finding you guilty
as to Counts 5, 7, 8, 9, 13, and 14, the Court adjudicates you
guilty. You will be remanded to the custody of the United
States marshal.
And with regard to the pending motions, I will expect
to receive written briefing from the parties, and I will place
the briefing on a very short time frame. Today obviously being
the 12th, I will require that the motion on behalf of the
Defendant be filed by the 19th, a response by the 26th, and a
reply by the 31st.
Is there anything further that we need to address at
this time?
MS. WEINTRAUB: Yes, Your Honor.
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Case 1:22-cr-20290-BB Document 324 Entered on FLSD Docket 02/25/2025 Page 8 of 14
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Yvette Hernandez, Official Court Reporter
400 North Miami Avenue, 10-2
Miami, Florida 33128
(305) 523-5698
I'd like to discuss the Court's remand order. The
Government is not even requesting it. I spoke with the
Government prior to the verdict being read. They're not
requesting a remand. He's been on bond for almost two years.
His family is here. His life is here. He's never lived
anywhere but here. He has complied with each and every
pretrial release. He has successfully been on bond for two
years.
To be blunt, we need him to help with preparing for
sentencing, and it would be very inconvenient if we can't meet
with him in person all together to do that with the evidence
and the boxes and mounds of discovery that -- we want to be
able to put together a meaningful sentencing memorandum and a
motion for new trial. It would be very difficult to do without
our client's assistance in person, and especially because the
Government is not asking for remand and it is a split,
inconsistent verdict.
Yesterday, they said they couldn't even reach a
verdict. It's obviously a compromise. We've all seen this
before. And I'm quite surprised that the Court, without the
Government even asking, is going to remand him.
So at this point we would ask, most respectfully, for
the Court to reconsider that, and ask the Government for their
position on the record perhaps, but I would urge this Court not
to remand him.
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Case 1:22-cr-20290-BB Document 324 Entered on FLSD Docket 02/25/2025 Page 9 of 14
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Yvette Hernandez, Official Court Reporter
400 North Miami Avenue, 10-2
Miami, Florida 33128
(305) 523-5698
THE COURT: All right. Is that correct, Ms. Jimenez?
Is that the Government's position now that the jury has found
the Defendant guilty of six counts in the Indictment?
MS. JIMENEZ: I defer to the Court wholeheartedly,
Your Honor.
THE COURT: Well, I want to make sure, because if
there was a representation made to either Ms. Weintraub or
Mr. Etra on behalf of the Government, then they've relied upon
that representation. So has that representation been made by
you?
MS. JIMENEZ: They asked if I was going to request it
and I said no.
MS. MARTINEZ: They asked just this morning.
MS. WEINTRAUB: Doesn't matter when I asked. I asked.
THE COURT: Right. So was the response that the
Government was not seeking remand?
MS. JIMENEZ: They asked if I was going to request it
and I said no.
THE COURT: Oh. Well, then Ms. Weintraub is accurate,
that even though the jury has found the Defendant guilty of six
counts -- is the Government in agreement that Mr. Sheppard has
complied with all pretrial conditions, he is not a risk of
flight, and that the magistrate judge has placed sufficient
monetary and non-monetary conditions to secure his appearance
at the time of sentencing?
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Case 1:22-cr-20290-BB Document 324 Entered on FLSD Docket 02/25/2025 Page 10 of 14
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Yvette Hernandez, Official Court Reporter
400 North Miami Avenue, 10-2
Miami, Florida 33128
(305) 523-5698
MS. JIMENEZ: As I stand here today, Your Honor, I
have to go -- I don't know exactly what his conditions are
because they have been modified.
Do you know? Can someone state on the record what his
conditions currently are?
MR. ETRA: Generally, Your Honor, he reports to
pretrial services. Travel is limited to here through Orlando,
and there's been some travel to Michigan for his daughter and
Philadelphia for his daughter's surgery. I don't remember if
that's something that was in the bond or something we get all
the time. That's basically what's been going on.
MS. JIMENEZ: Well, I think he should be limited to
the Southern District of Florida. I don't know what other
accommodations have been made.
THE COURT: My question is not with regard to the
Court modifying any conditions. I'm merely asking if the
Government made a representation that it was not asking the
Court for a remand -- and the Government has acknowledged that
there are exceptional circumstances that may exist. And my
question was merely: Do those circumstances include the fact
that Mr. Sheppard has fully complied with the conditions set
forth by the magistrate judge?
And to the extent that that is the Government's
position, then I see no reason why the Court should not honor
the agreement of counsel because the Government is satisfied
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Case 1:22-cr-20290-BB Document 324 Entered on FLSD Docket 02/25/2025 Page 11 of 14
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Yvette Hernandez, Official Court Reporter
400 North Miami Avenue, 10-2
Miami, Florida 33128
(305) 523-5698
and certainly the Court will honor it.
Is that correct, Ms. Jimenez?
MS. JIMENEZ: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: All right, then.
May I have a sentencing date, Liz?
(Pause in proceedings.)
COURTROOM DEPUTY: April 5th at 9:30.
THE COURT: All right. The Court will set sentencing
to take place on April 5th at 9:30 a.m. in this courtroom.
Mr. Sheppard, between now and then you and
Ms. Weintraub and/or Mr. Etra will be meeting with a Probation
officer that will ask many questions in order to complete a
Presentence Investigation Report. I would ask that you respond
and answer the questions thoroughly, since the Court will be
relying upon your answers.
Following the completion of the report, you, as well
as the Government, will have a full opportunity to review the
report and file any objections to its accuracy.
At the time of the sentencing hearing, which, once
again, is April 5th at 9:30 a.m. in this courtroom, if there
are individuals that you would like to have present to speak on
your behalf, or individuals to support you, please advise those
individuals of the date and time of the hearing. As well,
Mr. Sheppard, I certainly do invite you, if there is anything
that you would like to say, certainly that would be the
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Case 1:22-cr-20290-BB Document 324 Entered on FLSD Docket 02/25/2025 Page 12 of 14
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Yvette Hernandez, Official Court Reporter
400 North Miami Avenue, 10-2
Miami, Florida 33128
(305) 523-5698
appropriate time.
At this point in time, the Court will permit you,
Mr. Sheppard, to remain on the same pretrial release conditions
that were established by the magistrate judge. Those pretrial
release conditions remain from this point forward until you
appear before this Court on April 5th at 9:30 a.m. Is that
understood, sir?
THE DEFENDANT: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Is there anything further on behalf of
Mr. Sheppard?
MS. WEINTRAUB: No, Your Honor. Thank you.
THE COURT: Is there anything further on behalf of the
Government?
MS. JIMENEZ: No. No, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Okay. Have a good weekend. We'll see you
at that time.
I know the parties would like a copy of the Verdict
Form, so the courtroom deputy will make one for you.
MS. MARTINEZ: Have a good weekend, Your Honor. And
to all the staff, thank you.
THE COURT: To you as well.
(Proceedings concluded at 3:44 p.m.)
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Case 1:22-cr-20290-BB Document 324 Entered on FLSD Docket 02/25/2025 Page 13 of 14
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Yvette Hernandez, Official Court Reporter
400 North Miami Avenue, 10-2
Miami, Florida 33128
(305) 523-5698
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA )
ss:
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
)
C E R T I F I C A T E
I, Yvette Hernandez, Certified Shorthand Reporter in
and for the United States District Court for the Southern
District of Florida, do hereby certify that I was present at,
and reported in machine shorthand, the proceedings had the 12th
day of January, 2024, in the above-mentioned court; and that
the foregoing transcript is a true, correct, and complete
transcript of my stenographic notes.
I further certify that this transcript contains pages
1 - 14.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand at
Miami, Florida, this 25th day of February, 2025.
/s/Yvette Hernandez
Yvette Hernandez, CSR, RPR, CLR, CRR, RMR
400 North Miami Avenue, 10-2
Miami, Florida 33128
(305) 523-5698
yvette_hernandez@flsd.uscourts.gov
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