Judge denies Covid-19 release for man awaiting trial on a drug charge because his asthma isn't that bad and he's a high flight risk

A federal judge today denied a request by a man arrested on drug charges in Hyde Park last November that he be released from detention while awaiting trial because his asthma puts him at higher risk should he contract Covid-19 while in custody.

US District Court Magistrate Judge Jennifer Boal ruled that Willi Alexis Perez Baez's asthma was not as severe as specified by CDC guidelines for concern in Covid-19 patients and that he poses too much of a flight risk to let out before trial.

Boal summarized the case against Perez Baez, who is charged as being part of a fentanyl ring with four other men in Boston and Canton:

The government alleges that Perez Baez sold 50 grams of fentanyl to a cooperating witness on June 7, 2018. On November 14, 2019, agents arrested Perez Baez as he attempted to flee 17 Avila Road in [Hyde Park], where, pursuant to a search warrant, agents recovered additional fentanyl, two firearms, ammunition, and drug paraphernalia.

After his arrest, Perez Baez agreed to be detained pending trial, but on April 6, his lawyer filed a motion to have him released from the Wyatt Detention Facility in Rhode Island to await trial because of his asthma and because Wyatt "is an incubator for [Covid-19] because of the manner in which inmates are governed and because it is an unsanitary complex."

Perez Baez said that, if released to await trial, he would live with his significant other, with whom he has a daughter, in South Boston.

But Boal pointed to less than mitigating circumstances presented by federal prosecutors: That he is a Dominican native who was sent back shortly after he arrived here in 2008, then returned illegally in 2013, that he has fake licenses from Massachusetts and Pennsylvania and that he faces between 5 and 15 years in federal prison if convicted.

Also, Perez Baez's own medical records show his asthma is not as severe as to put him at special risk from a Covid-19 infection, based on CDC guidelines, she wrote.

[I]n light of the nature of the present charges, particularly the amount of drugs involved, the potentially lengthy sentence, and the presumption applicable to this case, as well as Perez Baez’s immigration status and his use of false identifications, I find that the government has met its burden to show that that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant as required and the safety of the community. ...

While this Court is mindful of the dangers posed by the COVID-19 public health crisis in custodial settings, Perez Baez has not shown that it warrants his release at this time. The CDC has identified individuals with “moderate to severe asthma” as those who may be at higher risk of getting seriously ill from COVID-19. See https://cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extraprecautions/asthma.html (last accessed April 17, 2020). As the medical records show, Perez Baez has "mild intermittent asthma" with acute exacerbation. He has provided no evidence that his condition meets the CDC guidance. Therefore, he has not shown that he is at high risk for severe illness were he to contract COVID-19. Accordingly, I order him detained pending trial.

Innocent, etc.