DOVER, Del. (AP) - A federal judge in Delaware has rejected a request from a 64-year-old man facing felony drug charges to be released from pretrial custody because of the coronavirus.
A public defender representing Floyd Punter argued that the coronavirus epidemic represents both new information that was not available at his July detention hearing and a compelling reason to release him.
Chief Judge Leonard Stark rejected the request in a ruling Tuesday.
“As an initial matter, the pandemic does not, of course, change Punter’s criminal history, the surveillance and other drug-related evidence against him, his prior failures to appear in court, or his use of aliases and multiple social security numbers,” Stark wrote.
Punter argued that he has been diagnosed with diabetes, hepatitis C, hypertension and obesity, and that his age and health conditions place him at higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
While not minimizing Punter’s concerns, Stark noted that federal prison officials are taking “reasonable and prudent steps” to prevent the spread of coronavirus within the facility where he is being held.
“Given Punter’s lengthy history of illegal drug distribution, the court is not persuaded that it could craft conditions that would reasonably assure he would not again turn to drug dealing if released,” the judge added.
Punter’s criminal history dates back to age 16 and includes 19 arrests and two felony convictions involving crack cocaine. Prosecutors say he was found with nearly half a kilogram of cocaine in March 2019 after an investigation into crack cocaine sales from a house near downtown Wilmington.
Court records indicate that Punter agreed in early March to plead guilty to a felony charge carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison. A formal plea hearing has been put on hold because of the coronavirus epidemic.
Meanwhile, state prison officials are reporting that several more Delaware inmates have tested positive for COVID-19.
The Delaware Department of Correction said Tuesday that proactive testing of 41 asymptomatic inmates at the state’s maximum-security prison resulted in 37 of them testing positive. The inmates were being housed in one of two buildings where the coronavirus has struck and which have been subject to close monitoring for more than two weeks. Officials said the inmates have been moved to the prison’s coronavirus treatment center, and that all remain asymptomatic.
DOC officials also said two other inmates from the same housing unit were among four prisoners who tested positive after being isolated amid signs of illness. All four are being treated onsite.
As of Tuesday, the DOC reported that 125 inmates, including 74 who have shown no signs of illness, have contracted COVID-19. Three inmates have died and 34 have recovered, officials said.
Officials have said 59 DOC staff members and five contract employees also have tested positive for COVID-19. The vast majority of inmate and staff cases involves the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center in Smyrna.
Additional voluntary testing of asymptomatic staff at other DOC facilities is being conducted this week in an effort to stop the virus from spreading, officials said.
DOC Commissioner Claire DeMatteis said Wednesday that the remaining inmates in the housing units at Vaughn where the virus has struck are being monitored for symptoms and are subject to twice-daily temperature checks.
DeMatteis also said the high number of positive test results among inmates who have not shown any symptoms should not be seen as an indication of widespread infection from the virus.
“It is not rampant in any of our facilities,” she said. ”What it shows is that we know how to contact trace.”
As of Tuesday evening, state officials reported 5,778 cases of COVID-19, and 193 deaths. People aged 65 and older accounted for only 18% of COVID-19 cases but 81% of the deaths. Officials said 299 people were hospitalized as of Tuesday, down from a peak of 337 on April 27. They had previously estimated more than 700 hospitalization by early April.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in two or three weeks, such as fever and cough. But for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the virus can cause more severe illness, or death.
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