UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, v. Crim. No. 21-145 (JDB) LUIS MIGUEL TEXEIRA-SPENCER, and OLATUNJI DAWODU, Defendants. MEMORANDUM OPINION Defendants Luis Miguel Teixeira-Spencer and Olatunji Dawodu are charged via indictment with one count of conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl. The charges stem from defendants’ involvement in a narcotics trafficking conspiracy which used darknet websites 1 to distribute pills pressed with fentanyl by mail. Following their arrests and a joint detention hearing, a magistrate judge on the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida ordered both defendants released pending trial and stayed the release order pending appeal. The government now asks this Court to review the magistrate judge’s decision and order defendants detained pending trial. For the reasons stated below, the Court concludes that no condition or combination of conditions of release will reasonably assure defendants’ appearance and the safety of the community if the defendants are released pending trial, and hence will order them detained. Background On February 22, 2021, a grand jury returned an indictment charging defendants Spencer 1 Darknet markets are commercial websites that are set up as “hidden services” and can only be accessed using the Tor network, which requires installing Tor software. Darknet markets function primarily as black markets for illicit goods and bitcoin is the most common payment method. See Indictment [ECF No. 1] ¶¶ 2–3. 1 and Dawodu with one count of conspiracy to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of fentanyl, a Schedule II controlled substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846, 841(a)(1), and 841(b)(1)(A)(vi). See Indictment. 2 These charges arise from defendants’ participation in a narcotics trafficking conspiracy which involved using darknet websites to distribute pills pressed with fentanyl via the U.S. Postal Service (“USPS”). Id. ¶¶ 8–12. The government’s proffer in support of pretrial detention is described below. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (“FBI”) and other law enforcement agencies conducted a criminal investigation of a darknet market vendor that operates the moniker “johncarter7.” See Gov’t’s Mem. at 1. 3 From around February 2017 until May 2020, johncarter7 sold pills pressed with fentanyl on several darknet markets, including AlphaBay, Wall Street, Dream, and Empire. Id. As certain darknet sites were shut down, the vendor turned to new markets. Id. at 1–2. Records indicate that johncarter7 sold more than 67,700 pills across the four darknet markets and more through the encrypted messaging application Jabber, receiving payment in bitcoin. Id. at 2. While investigating johncarter7, law enforcement found that three of the vendor’s darknet sites used the same encryption key and embedded within each key was the same email address. Id. That email address was the recovery address for an account on a bitcoin exchange 2 Additionally, on March 1, 2021, a grand jury returned an indictment in Case No. 21-CR-163 charging Dawodu and a third individual, Alex Ogando, with one …
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