Case 1:18-cr-10364-DPW Document 383 Filed 01/21/22 Page 1 of 5

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

No. 18-cr-10364-DPW-1
v.

JASIEL F. CORREIA, II

MOTION TO CONTINUE SURRENDER

Defendant Jasiel F. Correia, II, respectfully requests that this Court continue his surrender

date until 14 days after the close of evidence in United States v. Genoveva Andrade, No. 18-cr-

10364-DPW-2 (D. Mass.), or alternatively, at a minimum, for 45 days in light of the ongoing

public health crisis related to the highly contagious Omicron variant of COVID-19, including

hundreds of recently reported infections at the BOP facility in New Hampshire where Mr. Correia

has been designated to serve his sentence.1 The government opposes this motion.

Recognizing that the pandemic situation has significantly worsened since the Court’s Order

on November 24, 2021, see D.E. 356, the Court sua sponte continued Mr. Correia’s surrender from

January 10 to January 28, 2022, by Order dated January 5, 2022. See D.E. 382. As grounds for this

motion, Mr. Correia states that for the same reasons, a further continuance is warranted.

The highly contagious Omicron variant has caused an unprecedented wave of infections.

Although some expect that wave to peak in the coming weeks, the staggering numbers of positive

cases – both here and in New Hampshire – have surpassed all previous records. See Lloyd Jones,

“Schools log 546 cases of COVID, but peak may be coming,” THE CONWAY DAILY SUN (Jan. 18,

1
This motion is Mr. Correia’s second request to continue his surrender date, and it is based
primarily on circumstances that he did not know, and could not have known, when he made his
first request on November 17, 2021. See D.E. 347.

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2022) (predicting that “[t]here may be a light at the end of the tunnel for those dealing with the

Omicron variant of COVID-19, but it still several weeks away”)2; David Brooks, “Fixed site for

vaccines to open in Concord,” THE CONCORD MONITOR (Jan. 19, 2022) (reporting that “the surge

in cases caused by the Omicron variant continues to sweep through [New Hampshire]”)3; Felice J.

Freyer and Kay Lazar, “COVID-19 cases have peaked in Massachusetts,” THE BOSTON GLOBE

(Jan. 20, 2022) (noting that despite the recent decline in the infection rate in certain areas,

“thousands of new infections are reported daily and hospitals remain overwhelmed”)4. According

to an email notice from the Clerk of the Court, just yesterday, the District Judges have decided to

continue the current suspension of all jury trials and in-person hearings through February 11, 2022

(except where required by law), and to revisit that precaution on a weekly basis for the foreseeable

future.

As with prior waves of COVID infections, inmates, staff, and communities surrounding

BOP facilities are again at high risk of dangerous outbreaks. According to current BOP statistics,

at FCI Berlin, where Mr. Correia will serve his sentence, there are currently 188 positive cases

among inmates (approximately 25% of the total population) and 9 positive cases among staff.5

Those alarming figures put FCI Berlin in the top 10 of the hardest hit prisons among all BOP

facilities nationwide. As an emergency measure, the BOP has indefinitely suspended all visiting

at the prison. Earlier this year, FCI Berlin suffered another “major COVID-19 outbreak” that

2
Available at https://www.conwaydailysun.com/news/local/schools-log-546-cases-of-covid-but-
peak-may-be-coming/article_030fed1e-788a-11ec-836c-6316111f96ef.html.
3
Available at https://www.concordmonitor.com/covid-coronavirus-nh-new-hampshire-44654953.
4
Available at https://www.bostonglobe.com/2022/01/20/metro/covid-19-cases-have-peaked-
massachusetts/.
5
See https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/ (last accessed on Jan. 20, 2022).

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“affected 20 percent of the total inmate population,” Barbara Tetrault, “Major COVID outbreak at

federal prison in Berlin,” THE CONWAY DAILY SUN (Apr. 16, 2021)6, and such outbreaks can place

enormous burdens on local hospital resources, especially in remote areas such as Berlin, New

Hampshire.

Early in the pandemic, courts recognized that “it almost goes without saying that we should

not be adding to the prison population during the COVID-19 pandemic if it can be avoided.”

United States v. Garlock, No. 18-cr-00418-VC, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53747, at *1 (N.D. Cal.

Mar. 25, 2020) (extending self-surrender date sua sponte). While the availability of vaccinations

brought the pandemic under control for a time, the Omicron variant and the resulting explosion of

“breakthrough” infections have led to conditions where, “[t]o avoid adding to the chaos and

creating unnecessary health risks, offenders who are on release and scheduled to surrender to the

Bureau of Prisons in the coming months should, absent truly extraordinary circumstances, have

their surrender dates extended until this public health crisis has passed.” Id. at *2.

In addition, Mr. Correia states that his motion for continued release during his appeal

remains pending before this Court. See D.E. 328. If that motion is granted, the issue of his surrender

date will be moot. If it is denied, however, a further extension would permit orderly briefing of a

subsequent motion for continued release in the First Circuit. As this Court has recognized,

“consideration of a motion to stay is a two-step process which must first be completed in this Court

before it is pursued in the First Circuit.” D.E. 356 at 2 n.1 (citing Fed. R. App. P. 9) (November

24, 2021 Order granting motion to continue surrender date).

Moreover, the jury trial of co-defendant, Genoveva Andrade, was continued at the

6
Available at https://www.conwaydailysun.com/news/local/major-covid-outbreak-at-federal-
prison-in-berlin/article_79635c8a-9ed8-11eb-bece-c37a7c29bf51.html .

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government’s request to March 7, 2022, because during jury selection, a government witness tested

positive for COVID-19. See D.E. 375, 380 (noting voir dire panel of jurors was discharged due to

public health concerns). Given that unexpected delay, it remains “the prudent step” to continue the

Mr. Correia’s surrender date to “manag[e] the parallel tracks the travel of the separate cases

involving the two defendants has taken following the severance of their trials.” D.E. 356 at 1-2.

Among other reasons, evidence introduced at Ms. Andrade’s forthcoming trial may inform this

Court’s consideration of Mr. Correia’s pending motion to stay. See id. at 4-5.

This motion is not intended as a tactic for improper delay, and if it is allowed, Mr. Correia

will continue to work for his family’s small business and to abide by all conditions of supervision,

as he has since his arrest more than three years ago, on October 11, 2018. See D.E. 7.

For the foregoing reasons, Defendant Jasiel F. Correia, II, respectfully requests that this

Court continue his surrender date until 14 days after the close of evidence in Ms. Andrade’s trial

or, alternatively, at a minimum, for 45 days in the expectation that, by then, the current COVID-

19 surge may have subsided.

Respectfully submitted,

JASIEL F. CORREIA, II

by his attorneys,

/s/ Daniel N. Marx

William W. Fick (BBO #650562)
Daniel N. Marx (BBO #674523)
FICK & MARX LLP
24 Federal Street, 4th Floor
Boston, MA 02110
(857) 321-8360
wfick@fickmarx.com
dmarx@fickmarx.com

Dated: January 21, 2022

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I hereby certify that this document filed through the ECF system will be sent electronically
to the registered participants as identified on the Notice of Electronic Filing (NEF) and paper
copies will be sent to those indicated as non-registered participants on January 21, 2022.

/s/ Daniel N. Marx