United States v. Gerardo Mosquera

MEMORANDUM

Appellant Gerardo Mosquera (“Mosqu-era”) was convicted of and sentenced for two counts of a federal theft offense under 18 U.S.C. § 666 (a)(1)(A). On appeal, he challenges his conviction on speedy trial grounds, and separately argues that the district court erred in denying his request for a downward departure based on the conditions of his pretrial confinement in Columbia, in imposing a two-level upward adjustment for obstruction of justice, and another two-level upward adjustment for misuse of a Social Security number.

1. We do not reach the merits of Mos-quera’s contentions that his speedy trial rights were violated because we conclude that these claims were waived. First, Mosquera waived his rights under the Speedy Trial Act by failing to file a motion to dismiss on speedy trial grounds before trial. See 18 U.S.C. § 3162 (a)(2). We similarly conclude that Mosquera voluntarily and knowingly waived his Sixth Amendment right to a speedy trial. Although Mosquera initially objected to a continuance, he consented to the continuance after the district court explained that it was in his best interest to allow his attorney time to prepare for trial and he agreed to the…