Motion — United States v. David Staveley (Dkt. 34, D.R.I. No. 1:20-cr-00074)

Record facts

U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island · No. 1:20-cr-00074-MSM-LDA · Doc. 34 · 2021-01-11 · Docket on CourtListener

Full text

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
 
FOR THE DISTRICT OF RHODE ISLAND 
 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA  
 
 
v. 
DAVID ADLER STAVELEY,  
     a/k/a “Kurt Sanborn,” 
                  Defendant.                         
No. 20-CR-074-MSM-LDA 
 
 
 
GOVERNMENT’S MEMORANDUM IN OPPOSITION   
TO DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR COMPASSIONATE RELEASE  
 
         Defendant David Staveley (“Staveley”) has moved this Court for compassionate 
release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1), arguing that this extraordinary remedy is 
warranted as a result of a sexual assault he claims to have endured years ago. The 
United States has no way to know whether this assault actually occurred or whether, 
like defendant’s prior staged suicide, it is simply another ploy by this defendant to gain 
release. In either event, defendant’s motion should be denied. 
         First and foremost, the remedy sought by Staveley does not exist for defendants 
who have yet to be sentenced. Compassionate release is only available for defendants 
who have already been sentenced who can demonstrate “extraordinary and 
compelling” reasons for a reduction in sentence. 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1). Defendant is 
detained pretrial; the remedy of compassionate release is therefore unavailable. 
         Even if defendant’s motion were read generously to be a motion for release from 
custody under the Bail Reform Act, it should be denied. This Court is well familiar with 
this defendant’s history on pretrial release. On May 26, 2020, Staveley disengaged his 
Case 1:20-cr-00074-MSM-LDA   Document 34   Filed 01/11/21   Page 1 of 5 PageID #: 159

 
 
 
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electronic monitoring and staged his disappearance to make it look like a suicide. He 
sent suicide notes to several individuals which were provided to the Government. His 
vehicle was subsequently found abandoned near the ocean in Revere, Massachusetts; a 
suicide note was left behind in the car making it appear that defendant had drowned 
himself in the ocean. The Massachusetts State Police dispatched a rescue boat to search 
for his body; it, of course, was never found. 
        The United States Marshal’s Service then undertook an extensive investigation in 
an attempt to locate and apprehend Staveley. The investigation uncovered that Staveley 
was moving around the country from one State to the next and that he was using 
numerous aliases to conceal his identity. While on the lamb, Staveley represented 
himself to be “David Spencer,” “Patrick Hughes,” and “Daniel Pitts.” At the time of his 
re-arrest, Staveley was in the process of securing employment under the identity of 
“Daniel Pitts.” He also regularly changed his cell phones in an attempt to avoid 
apprehension. He appears to have been sleeping in a minivan on which he affixed two 
stolen license plates – one from Rhode Island and another from California. 
        After herculean efforts by the United States Marshal’s Service, defendant was 
apprehended in the Atlanta, Georgia area on July 23, 2020. In his possession were a 
passport and numerous false identification cards in various names. Hand-written notes 
were also found which contained the names of different identities and their dates of 
birth and social security numbers. In addition, defendant was found in possession of 
three different cell phones. 
 
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          The facts of this case demonstrate beyond any doubt that defendant is an extreme 
risk of flight and that no conditions can assure his appearance at future proceedings. 
For this reason, this Court ordered defendant held pretrial after he was apprehended by 
the Marshals. Nothing has changed to alter that conclusion. This Court certainly cannot 
trust the representation made by this defendant that he was previously sexually 
assaulted. If this representation is accurate, the United States sympathizes with the  
defendant for what he has endured. Prior counsel has suggested that this sexual assault 
played a role in defendant’s decision to flee as he was desperate to avoid jail time. If this 
is correct, that same factor would still serve as an incentive for defendant to flee before 
the lengthy sentence he is likely to receive in this case is imposed.1 
         This Court already placed its faith in this defendant once when it initially released 
him pretrial. Defendant responded by staging his suicide, cutting off his electronic 
monitoring and absconding across the country using aliases. Defendant is an extreme 
risk of flight who should not be released.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
1 The Government also disagrees with the contention made by defendant that he “is alone 24 
hours per day.” (Def. Mem. at 2). Defendant is not in some kind of solitary confinement as this 
remark suggests. Defendant is housed in the Bravo Pod at the Wyatt Detention Center, which is a 
General Population unit. Staveley is noted as a “house alone,” which means he has no cellmate, 
though the cells in this area are each designed for two detainees. The “house alone” designation 
was placed by mental health staff in conjunction with Staveley’s request due to concerns he 
raised during their sessions. 
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Respectfully submitted, 
 
AARON L. WEISMAN 
United States Attorney 
 
 
 
 
Assistant U.S. Attorney 
 
United States Attorney’s Office  
 
50 Kennedy Plaza, 8th Floor 
 
Providence, RI 02903 
 
 
 
 
 
 
401-709-5000 (tel) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
401-709-5001 (fax) 
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 
 
 
I hereby certify that on this 11th day of January 2021, I caused the within Government’s 
Opposition to be filed electronically and it is available for viewing and downloading from the 
ECF system. 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Lee H. Vilker________________  
 
LEE H. VILKER 
Assistant U. S. Attorney  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
U. S. Attorney's Office 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
50 Kennedy Plaza, 8th Floor 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Providence, RI 02903 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
401-709-5000, 401-709-5001 (fax) 
 
Case 1:20-cr-00074-MSM-LDA   Document 34   Filed 01/11/21   Page 5 of 5 PageID #: 163

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