RI federal judge considers sanctioning ICE over man’s undisclosed criminal record

Federal attorneys knew of a 2023 murder charge against a Dominican national for four days before he was released from a detention center but never alerted a Rhode Island U.S. District Court judge of his criminal history.

After criticizing ‘activist judge,’ feds admit they didn’t disclose murder warrant in release case

The warrant for Bryan Rafael Gomez, 27, was referenced in a press release issued by federal authorities on April 16. But U.S. Attorneys say they did not see it and later were instructed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) not to share details about it because the warrant’s status was unconfirmed at the time Judge Melissa DuBose granted the writ of habeas corpus on April 28.

That’s according to court filings submitted by the Rhode Island U.S. Attorney’s Office Monday, four hours before one of its attorneys apologized to DuBose during a virtual show cause hearing over the lack of disclosure.

“It was a very significant mistake on my part,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Bolan told DuBose during the 36-minute hearing. “Among the things that I should have done, but did not do, in working through the habeas petition was to conduct something that would have been very simple to do: which is to conduct a Google search.”

DuBose, appointed by President Joe Biden, thanked the federal government for its apology, but acknowledged it will take a lot of work to restore its working relationship with the court. She said she is now considering whether to sanction ICE for withholding material information.

“There was a serious breakdown in the ethical codes here,” DuBose said. 

Gomez was detained by ICE officers on April 4 after his arrest in Worcester, Massachusetts, on assault and battery charges. Court filings indicate that on the same day, ICE contacted its attaché in the Dominican Republic to collect information about Gomez’s criminal history in his home country, specifically a criminal arrest warrant issued in January 2023.

Confirmation was not given to ICE until April 30, according to the declaration by Brian E. Sullivan, acting assistant field office director for ICE in Burlington, Massachusetts. That was six days after Bolan had emailed ICE’s Northeast Region Office of the Principal Legal Advisor for input on his prospective response to the petition filed by Gomez the day before.

ICE’s Northeast Region legal office told Bolan on April 24 not to confirm or deny the information because U.S. officials had not yet been authorized by the Dominican Republic to use it, according to Sullivan’s declaration.

“There was additional information included in that communication concerning the same arrest warrant for which ICE still lacks use authorization,” Sullivan wrote. 

Bolan said it was unclear whether ICE’s guidance allowed him to disclose the information under seal. DuBose noted the court is routinely given sensitive information by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with instructions to keep it confidential.

“This is not a situation where you are to hold back information,” she said.

Even before federal immigration officials confirmed the warrant, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security referenced it in an April 16 release highlighting its focus on “targeted immigration enforcement” in New England communities.

Sullivan’s declaration states that the details of the April 16 press release were not formally documented or cleared in ICE’s system at the time the U.S. Attorney’s Office took on the habeas corpus petition, which was filed April 23.

“I can tell you for a fact no one in this office was aware of that information,” Bolan told DuBose.

That same day ICE received its confirmation, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issued a media release that attacked DuBose and characterized her as an “activist” judge appointed by Biden who released a “wanted murderer back into American communities.” The post was still online Monday. 

DuBose asked whether Bolan advised the department to take down the erroneous statement.

“I have been focused solely on making sure you’ve gotten the facts,” Bolan responded. “I will be bringing back to the client your position.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment about why the post remained online following a public apology from the U.S. Attorney’s office.

Bolan said if he could do it over, he would have asked the court for an extension to Gomez’s habeas petition.

“I certainly have asked for more time from the court in the past, and the court has been very considerate in typically granting that,” he said.

The U.S. Attorney’s office has since filed a motion to reconsider Gomez’s habeas petition, which DuBose said she was still considering. A second show cause hearing is scheduled for noon Tuesday.

Gomez has been at his home in Massachusetts since his court-ordered release, his attorney Melanie Shapiro told DuBose.