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Case 5:17-mj-00864 Document 3 Filed 07/05/17 Page 1 of 10

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT


FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA :


MAGISTRATE NO. 17-864-1
v. :

JEREMY P. ACHEY :
a/k/a Etiking

GOVERNMENTS MOTION FOR PRETRIAL DETENTION

The United States of America, by Louis D. Lappen, Acting United States

Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and Kishan Nair, Assistant United States

Attorney, moves for a detention hearing 1 and pretrial detention of the defendant pursuant to 18

U.S.C. 3142(e).

Defendant is a danger to the community and is also a flight risk. The government

seeks this Order, because no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the

defendants appearance as required and/or the safety of other persons and the community. 2

I. THE FACTS

In support of this motion, the government makes the following representations

and proposed findings of fact:

1
Under the Bail Act, a judicial officer shall hold a detention hearing upon motion of the
government in a case, as here, which involves either a crime of violence or a drug crime
punishable by imprisonment of ten years or more, or a crime with a maximum potential sentence
of life imprisonment, 18 U.S.C. 3142(f)(1)(A)-(C), or a crime which involves a serious risk
that the defendant will flee. 18 U.S.C. 3142(f)(2)(A).
2
The government must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that no conditions of release
reasonably will assure the defendants appearance or prove by clear and convincing evidence
that no conditions of release will assure the safety of the community. United States v. Himmler,
797 F.2d 156, 161 (3d Cir. 1986).

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A. Probable Cause and The Evidence in This Case

1. There is probable cause to believe that the defendant has committed the

crime of distribution of analogues of controlled substances and controlled substances [4-AcO-

DMT, an analogue of psilocin, and 6-(2-Aminopropyl) benzofuran Hydrochloride, an analogue

of MDMA], both Schedule I controlled substances, in violation of Title 21, United States Code,

Sections 802(32)(A), 813 and 841; and use of communications facilities in the commission of

narcotics offenses, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 843(b), as charged in the

criminal complaint filed on June 26, 2017, in the Middle District of Florida, at docket no. 6:17-

mj-1512 (see complaint and warrant, hereby incorporated by reference at magistrate docket

number 17-864-1, and Attachment A). The defendant is both a danger to the community and a

risk of flight absent sufficient rebuttal by the defendant. See 18 U.S.C. 3142(e).

2. The evidence in this case is strong and will show that beginning on or

about February 27, 2017, defendant Jeremy P. Achey distributed analogues of controlled

substances and controlled substances in Bethlehem, Northampton County, in the Eastern District

of Pennsylvania, to the Middle District of Florida and throughout the United States. The

defendant distributed controlled substances, controlled substance analogues, and other

substances through the Dark Net, which criminal elements have used to conduct various criminal

activities, including illegal drug trafficking, because of the relative secrecy it provides allowing

the users to encrypt their communications. The evidence consists, in part, of approximately

twenty-five (25) federally court ordered search warrants, physical observations by law

enforcement, the defendants Mirandized, recorded confession, and seized controlled substances.

The defendant continued to deliver chemical substances even after he learned that an

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Case 5:17-mj-00864 Document 3 Filed 07/05/17 Page 3 of 10

overdose death had occurred because of someone ingesting one of the substances he had

delivered (see Attachment A). Florida DEA agents continue investigating this overdose

death attributable to the substance delivered by the defendant, and an additional 19

overdose deaths that occurred in the 2017 calendar year. The people who died of overdose

deaths were all Dark Net customers of the defendant. Additionally, DEA-Allentown

agents seized physical evidence from the defendants Bethlehem residence including 27 different

powder and liquid substances that agents submitted to the DEA forensics laboratory for analysis.

Agents also seized blotter sheets typically used for LSD (acid). Other documentary evidence

included a June 24, 2017 note purportedly left on the porch of the defendants residence for

United States Postal Service parcel delivery, which stated, U.S.P.S. OUTBOUND, GO U.S.A.

and also a smiley face emoticon (see attached exhibit B). The Pennsylvania State Police

clandestine laboratory team had to secure the residence during the execution of a search warrant

at Acheys Bethlehem residence.

B. Maximum Penalties

As charged in the criminal complaint, the defendant faces a total maximum

sentence of up to twenty-four years imprisonment, and a mandatory minimum 3 years of

supervised release up to a lifetime of supervised release. If the defendant is indicted for a

violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 841, in which death or serious bodily injury

results from the use of such substance, he could be sentenced to a 20-year mandatory minimum

term of imprisonment, and up to a term of life imprisonment.

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C. Criminal Record

Achey has the following recorded adult criminal history: on August 21, 1993, at

age 19, the Irvington Police Department (New Jersey) arrested him for charges of loitering,

aggravated assault on law enforcement, resisting arrest, escape, and possession of a controlled

dangerous substance, analog, schedule 1, II, III. . On August 31, 1993, he pled guilty to

loitering and received a sentence of 10 days imprisonment and a $50 fine. According to NCIC,

on June 13, 1995, the Franklin County Sheriffs Department (Tennessee) issued an arrest warrant

for Achey involving a burglary investigation. DEA agents determined that although this warrant

is still active, it is non-extraditable. The defendant told DEA agents that during the time the

warrant issued, he was homeless and living in Tennessee, and he survived by selling items to

pawnshops. He said the warrant was a result of law enforcement authorities wanting to question

him in a burglary investigation because of the items he had sold to pawnshops.

D. Prior History of Failures to Appear and Abide by Court Supervision

The defendant is a risk of flight because he may face at least a 20-year mandatory

minimum term of imprisonment. The defendant also has one active, non-extraditable arrest

warrant from Tennessee (June 13, 1995) for a burglary investigation.

E. Community Ties/Lack of Employment

The defendant has community ties in Bethlehem. He has been unemployed for

four years, and his only source of income appears to be the distribution of controlled substance

analogues trough the Dark Web. In his Mirandized Statement to DEA agents, the defendant

admitted to selling these substances through the Dark Web for 5 to 7 years.

II. LAW

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A. Presumption of Dangerousness and Flight

This Court should order detention of the defendant pending trial because he is

both a danger to the community and a serious risk of flight. 3 Because the defendant potentially

faces a sentence of up to twenty years imprisonment, see 21 U.S.C. 841(b)(1)(C), this Court

must presume that the defendant is both a danger to the community and a risk of flight absent

sufficient rebuttal by the defendant. See 18 U.S.C. 3142(e).

B. Family Ties Not Enough to Rebut Presumption

The legislative history of the Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1983 indicates

that congress found that community or family ties do not weigh heavily in the risk of flight

analysis:

[Congress] is aware of growing evidence that the presence of this factor does not

necessarily reflect a likelihood of appearance, and has no correlation with the question of

the safety of the community [Congress] does not intend that a court conclude there is

no risk of flight on the basis of community ties alone.

Sen. Comm. on Judiciary, Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1983, S. Rep. No. 98-225, 98th

Cong., 1st Sess. 24, 25 (1983).

III. CONCLUSION

Nothing short of 24-hour custody and supervision can ensure the safety of the

community. The conditions of release enumerated in the detention statute at Section 3142(c)

3 The government must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that no conditions of release
reasonably will assure the defendants appearance or prove by clear and convincing evidence
that no conditions of release will assure the safety of the community. United States v. Himmler,
797 F.2d 156, 161 (3d Cir. 1986).

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would serve only to inform the Court, after the fact, that the defendant has resumed his criminal

career. When all these factors are viewed in light of the substantial sentence defendant faces if

convicted, it is clear that no condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the

presence of the defendant as required and/or safety of the community.

WHEREFORE, the government respectfully submits that its Motion for

Defendants Pretrial Detention should be granted.

Respectfully submitted,

LOUIS D. LAPPEN
Acting United States Attorney

/s/ Kishan Nair


KISHAN NAIR
Assistant United States Attorney

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Case 5:17-mj-00864 Document 3 Filed 07/05/17 Page 7 of 10

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT


FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA :

v. : MAGISTRATE NO. 17-864-1

JEREMY P. ACHEY :
a/k/a Etiking

PRETRIAL DETENTION ORDER

AND NOW, this day of July, 2017, after an evidentiary hearing and

argument of counsel for the government and the defendant, the Court finds that:

(a) the defendant has failed to rebut the presumption that, based on the

charges in the complaint, he is both a danger to the community and a risk of flight pursuant to 18

U.S.C. 3142(e).

(b) the government has proved by a preponderance of the evidence that no

condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant as

required; and

(c) the government has proved by clear and convincing evidence that no

condition or combination of conditions will reasonably assure the safety of other persons and the

community, as required by Title 18, United States Code, Section 3142(e).

The Court makes the following findings of fact:

This case is appropriate for detention under Title 18, United States Code, Section

3142(e) because:

1. There is probable cause to believe that the defendant has committed the

crime of distribution of analogues controlled substances and controlled substances [4-AcO-


Case 5:17-mj-00864 Document 3 Filed 07/05/17 Page 8 of 10

DMT, an analogue of psilocin, and 6-(2-Aminopropyl) benzofuran Hydrochloride, an analogue

of MDMA], both Schedule I controlled substances, in violation of Title 21, United States Code,

Sections 802(32)(A), 813 and 841; and use of communications facilities in the commission of

narcotics offenses, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 843(b), as charged in the

criminal complaint filed on June 26, 2017, in the Middle District of Florida, at docket no. 6:17-

mj-1512.

2. The evidence in this case is strong and shows that beginning on or

about February 27, 2017, defendant Jeremy P. Achey distributed analogues of controlled

substances and controlled substances in Bethlehem, Northampton County, in the Eastern District

of Pennsylvania, to the Middle District of Florida and throughout the United States. The

defendant distributed controlled substances, controlled substance analogues, and other

substances through the Dark Net. The evidence consists, in part, of approximately twenty-five

(25) federally court ordered search warrants, physical observations by law enforcement, the

defendants Mirandized, recorded confession, and seized controlled substances. The defendant

continued to deliver chemical substances even after he learned that an overdose death had

occurred because of someone ingesting one of the substances he had delivered (see Attachment

A). Florida DEA agents continue investigating this overdose death attributable to the substance

delivered by the defendant, and an additional 19 overdose deaths that occurred in the 2017

calendar year. The people who died of overdose deaths were all Dark Net customers of the

defendant. Additionally, DEA-Allentown agents seized physical evidence from the defendants

Bethlehem residence including 27 different powder and liquid substances that agents submitted

to the DEA forensics laboratory for analysis. Agents also seized blotter sheets typically used for

LSD (acid).

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Case 5:17-mj-00864 Document 3 Filed 07/05/17 Page 9 of 10

3. As charged in the criminal complaint, the defendant faces a total

maximum sentence of faces a total maximum sentence of up to twenty-four years imprisonment,

and a mandatory minimum 3 years of supervised release up to a lifetime of supervised release.

4. The strength and nature of the case against the defendant, combined with

the strong likelihood that the defendant will be incarcerated for a significant period of time,

establishes the defendants danger to the community.

5. As there is probable cause to believe that the defendant committed an

offense punishable by 10 or more years in jail under the Controlled Substances Act, the Court

must presume--subject to rebuttal by the defendant--that no condition of release, or combination

of conditions, will reasonably assure the safety of any person and the community. The defendant

has failed to rebut this presumption.

Therefore, IT IS ORDERED that the defendant be committed to the custody of

the Attorney General for confinement in a correction facility separate, to the extent practicable,

from persons awaiting or serving sentences or being held in custody pending appeal; that the

defendant be afforded reasonable opportunity for private consultation with counsel; and that, on

order of a Court of the United States, or on request of an attorney for the government, the person

in charge of the corrections facility in which the defendant is confined deliver the defendant to a

United States Marshal for the purpose of an appearance in connection with a court proceeding.

BY THE COURT:

___________________________________
HONORABLE HENRY S. PERKIN
United States Magistrate Judge

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE

I certify that a copy of the Governments Motion for Pretrial Detention, and

Proposed Order was served by email, on the following defense counsel:

Catherine Henry, Esquire


Federal Community Defender Office
Suite 540 West, Curtis Center
601 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106.
catherine_henry@fd.org

/s/ Kishan Nair


KISHAN NAIR
Assistant United States Attorney

Date: July 5, 2017

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