NEW YORK — A New York judge says a Drug Enforcement Administration agent must remain behind bars while awaiting trial on charges of joining the agency to help a murderous drug organization.
U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman said Monday that Fernando Gomez was a risk to flee after his December arrest at his Chicago office. Gomez pleaded not guilty to charges carrying a potential mandatory 20-year prison penalty and a life maximum.
Lawyer Thomas Durkin says his client is not a flight threat and is a law-abiding citizen who served six years in the U.S. Marines.
The 41-year-old Chicago resident was brought to New York after a Chicago magistrate judge said he should be released on bail. The government appealed to Furman, who will preside over the agent’s September trial. Furman called the case “extraordinary.”
The Associated Press
