Judge Reluctantly Delays ​“V‑Love”‘s Sentencing

A federal judge was ready to sentence Vashun Lewis. Lewis had other ideas.

Lewis appeared before New Haven-based U.S. District Court Judge Janet Hall this week to be sentenced on two counts for which he was convicted last March: possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Lewis said he wanted to present a motion challenging the validity of the verdict, and successfully persuaded Hall to delay his hearing for the third time.

The judge had initially scheduled sentencing in the case for May 28, 2020. It was then pushed to Nov. 4, and then again to Monday. Now the next scheduled date is March 8.

Lewis’s attorney, Robert Frost, told the Independent that he is reviewing Lewis’s motion, which he hadn’t seen before the court date. He said that if he decides to formally file Lewis’ motion after reviewing it, he now has until Feb. 12 to do so.

Hall was reluctant to grant this latest extension, but decided to grant another delay out of caution. ​“It’s never good to push ahead,” she said at Monday’s hearing. ​“In the criminal law area … I am realizing that’s a dangerous thing to do.”

New Haven police, working with federal authorities, arrested Lewis in 2017. Lewis, known as ​“V‑Love,” was engaged in an illegal cigarette trafficking operation, was selling marijuana and heroin, and was known to possess a handgun. He was arrested after a court-authorized search of his home turned up ​“a 9mm semiautomatic handgun, more than 100 grams of marijuana, items used to process and package drugs for street sale, and more than 50 cartons of cigarettes,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Monday’s hearing, which was conducted over Zoom, was marred by technical difficulties. One of the presenting attorneys was initially unable to enter the Zoom; her co-counsel began without her. The judge flitted in and out of a virtual background that resembled a courtroom. The defendant, Lewis, wearing a tan uniform, sat in a locked room with a surgical mask.

Throughout the hearing, Lewis repeatedly mentioned that his mouth was dry and he wanted water, at one point getting up and rapping on the window of the room. He asked the judge if she could help.

“Isn’t there a supervisor there?” the judge asked.

“No, I’m alone.” Lewis responded.

Lewis also said he had Covid-19 while in prison. He said his activities were restricted inside prison because of the pandemic. He said he couldn’t access the library, severely restricting his ability to write the motion.

Because of shipping delays, not even Lewis’ own attorney, Robert Frost, knew what specific arguments this latest motion made. Instead, he described a brief phone call they had in which Lewis described the general contents to Frost.

After the hearing, Frost described Lewis’ arguments in greater detail in an email to the Independent. Namely, Lewis’ motion argued two separate points: “(1) the Government’s failure to separately charge a controlled substance offense in a separate count to support the 18 U.S.C. 924(c) charge (the Government alleged it in the indictment and was required to prove it as part of the 924(c) offense, but didn’t charge it separately), and (2) the law does not allow separate convictions for violations of 18 USC 922(g) and 18 USC 924(c) based on the same conduct (possession of the same gun),” Lewis wrote.

At times in court Frost told Hall that his own research did not indicate that Lewis’ argument that ​“double jeopardy” — a law that prevents someone being tried for the same crime twice — would necessarily apply to this case. However, Frost repeatedly said that “[Lewis] has the ability to raise the motion.”

Judge Hall said she felt ​“very torn” and ultimately decided that moving forward without knowing the actual contents of the motion and the arguments Lewis raised would not be the right move.

For his part, Lewis promised that this would be the last motion he filed.