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Government's Time Sensitive Motion for Hearing to Address Lack of Access to Defendant's Medical Information — United States v. Evan Edwards…

No. 6:22-cr-00201-AGM-LHP · Doc. 164 · Docket on CourtListener

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Case 6:22-cr-00201-AGM-LHP Document 164 Filed 05/06/24 Page 1 of 5 PageID 782

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
ORLANDO DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

v. CASE NO. 6:22-cr-00201-WWB-LHP

EVAN EDWARDS
a/k/a Ian Heringa

GOVERNMENT’S TIME SENSITIVE MOTION FOR HEARING TO
ADDRESS LACK OF ACCESS TO DEFENDANT’S MEDICAL
INFORMATION

The United States of America by Roger B. Handberg, United States Attorney

for the Middle District of Florida, hereby moves the Court for entry of an order setting

a hearing as soon as possible to address USMS’s lack of access to Evan Edwards’s

medical information, and states in support:

INTROUCTION

This motion is designated time sensitive because USMS/JPATS requires the

Defendant’s medical information on or before May 8, 2024 in order for JPATS to

transport the Defendant to FMC Devens by the voluntary surrender date of May 15,

2024. To date, USMS has not received any medical information for the Defendant. A

ruling on this motion is requested on or before May 7, 2024 in order to address the

lack of access to the Defendant’s medical records as soon as possible. Defense

counsel has indicated that he is currently in a civil jury trial in state court through next

week. However, there is an urgent need to address this issue forthwith so as not to

delay Defendant’s transport to FMC Devens for competency restoration.
Case 6:22-cr-00201-AGM-LHP Document 164 Filed 05/06/24 Page 2 of 5 PageID 783

BACKGROUND

1. Evan Edwards (the “Defendant”) has been found incompetent to stand

trial under 18 U.S.C. § 4241(b) and this Court has ordered treatment pursuant to 18

U.S.C. § 4241(d). Doc. 136.

2. The Defendant is under the care of his wife, Mary Jane Edwards (“Ms.

Edwards”), who is the third party custodian in this case. Doc. 114.

3. The BOP has set the voluntary surrender date for the Defendant as May

15, 2024 by 2:00 p.m. The designated facility is FMC Devens. As requested by the

Defendant, USMS is facilitating the Defendant’s transport to FMC Devens. Docs.

139, 145. However, in order to transport the Defendant, JPATS requires certain

medical information no less than one week in advance of the voluntary surrender date.

Thus, the medical information must be provided to JPATS on or before May 8, 2024.

4. Pursuant to this Court’s Order dated March 28, 2024 (the “March 28,

2024 Order”), the Defendant is required to “cooperate in the collection of all necessary

information by the USMS for the purposes of obtaining medical clearance to be

transported.” Doc. 145.

5. On April 17, 2023, defense counsel reported to the undersigned that he

would provide the records as soon as he had them, and that he had made the request

for the records to Defendant’s wife (the third-party custodian in this case). According

to defense counsel, the Defendant’s wife reported that she was waiting on the

information from the Defendant’s health care providers.

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6. On April 24, 2023, the undersigned spoke with defense counsel, who

requested that the undersigned and Supervisory Deputy U.S. Marshal meet with him

and Ms. Edwards the next day via Zoom to discuss the need for the Medical

Information.

7. On April 25, 2023, the undersigned, Penelope Knox, and defense counsel

met via Zoom. Defense counsel advised at that time, however, that Ms. Edwards was

refusing to participate in the meeting. In the Government’s view, Ms. Edwards was

not complying with the March 28, 2024 Order requiring her cooperation with the

collection of medical information.

8. On April 26, 2024, upon motion of the Government (Doc. 153), the

Court entered an Order directing the release of the Defendant’s medical records (Doc.

154). The April 26, 2024 Order required (1) that Mary Jane Edwards provide the

names of the Defendant’s medical providers on or before April 29, 2024; (2) that

defense counsel provide a copy of Exhibit A and the Order to the medical providers

once identified; and (3) that the medical providers, in turn, provide the requested

information to USMS on or before May 3, 2024. Doc. 154.

9. On April 29, 2024, defense counsel filed a Notice of Compliance with the

Court’s April 26, 2024 Order. Doc. 155.

10. To date, USMS has not received any medical records from any of the

purported medical providers. In one instance, a medical provider reached out to

Penelope Knox for additional identifiers for the Defendant. Upon being provided the

information, the representative for the provider indicated that they were unable to
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Case 6:22-cr-00201-AGM-LHP Document 164 Filed 05/06/24 Page 4 of 5 PageID 785

locate the Defendant in their system.

11. If the required medical records are not received forthwith, then USMS

will be unable to transport the Defendant for the May 15, 2024 voluntary surrender

date, and the facility will likely open the spot to another patient. This will cause

unnecessary delay in providing the Defendant with competency restoration treatment.

12. Therefore, the United States hereby requests that the Court enter an

Order setting a hearing as soon as possible to address the lack of access to Evan

Edwards’s medical information.

13. On May 6, 2024, the undersigned attempted to confer with defense

counsel, Brian Phillips, who stated: “I am sole trial counsel for the lead defendant,

Soul Quest Church, in Begley v. Soul Quest Chruch, et al, Case No. 2020-CA-3387-O

(Cir. Civ. Orange Co. Fla.). The jury was seated today and the parties expect it to run

until the middle (or end) of next week.”

WHEREFORE, the United States respectfully requests that this Court set a

hearing forthwith to address USMS’s lack of access to Evan Edwards’s medical

records.

Respectfully submitted,

ROGER B. HANDBERG
United States Attorney

By: /s/ Kara M. Wick
Kara M. Wick
Assistant United States Attorney
Florida Bar No. 0085578
Telephone: (407) 648-7500
E-mail: Kara.Wick@usdoj.gov
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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I HEREBY CERTIFY that on May 6, 2024, a true and correct copy of the

foregoing was filed via the CM/ECF filling system, which will send service to all

counsel of record:

A. Brian Phillips, Esq.

/s/ Kara M. Wick
Kara M. Wick
Assistant United States Attorney

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