United States v. Arafat, No. 14-2236 (8th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CaseAfter 31 robberies across Minnesota, Arafat was arrested and admitted to committing the last robbery. Charged with 13 counts of armed bank robbery, 18 U.S.C. 2113(a) and (d), Arafat successfully moved to proceed pro se with appointed stand-by counsel and to sever the counts into three groups to be tried separately. On the day that the first trial was to begin, Arafat stated that he wished to plead guilty to Count 1, although he had not entered into a plea agreement. Because Arafat had asserted in earlier filings that he felt coerced to plead guilty, the court engaged in a lengthy discussion to ensure that his plea was voluntary. Accepting the plea, the court scheduled trials for the remaining counts. Before the next scheduled trial, Arafat and the government reached a plea agreement. Arafat agreed to plead guilty to five counts and to admit responsibility for 25 additional armed bank robberies. The government agreed to dismiss the remaining seven counts and that a 168-month sentence was appropriate. After an extensive Rule 11 colloquy, the court did not explicitly state, “I accept your plea of guilty,” but scheduled a sentencing hearing. Moments before the hearing was to begin, Arafat moved to withdraw both pleas. The Eighth Circuit affirmed denial of the motion.
Court Description: Wollman, Author, with Colloton, Circuit Judge, and White, District Judge] Criminal case - Criminal law. The district court did not err in denying defendant's motion to withdraw his guilty plea as it had implicitly accepted the plea during the change-of-plea hearing; defendant clearly admitted he was guilty of violating 18 U.S.C. Sec. 2113(d) and his claim that he had a fair and just reason to withdraw the plea - innocence of the charge - was properly rejected.
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