United States v. Stavrakis, 1:19-cr-00160

Background

This case arises from an arson at a commercial property in Baltimore on July 29, 2015 that was owned by Demetrios “Jimmy” Stavrakis; he recovered about $15 million in insurance proceeds.
Stavrakis was tried (Sept. 2019), convicted on all counts (Oct. 24, 2019), and sentenced (Feb. 12, 2020) to a 15-year term of imprisonment (statutory mandatory minimum). An appeal was filed on Feb. 18, 2020 and is pending.
The court set a self-surrender date (originally April 20, 2020) which was extended multiple times because of the COVID-19 pandemic; the then-current reporting date was August 3, 2020 when Stavrakis filed the motion now before the court.
Stavrakis moved to postpone his surrender or, alternatively, for release pending appeal under 18 U.S.C. § 3143(b), citing underlying health conditions (cardiac disease, hypertension, obesity, recent Achilles injury) and assignment to FCI Texarkana (allegedly a COVID-19 hotspot).
The government opposed release and disputed the claimed merits of the appeal and the sufficiency of the medical support for Stavrakis’s COVID risk claims.
The court denied release pending appeal (finding the appeal did not present a substantial question likely to result in reversal or other listed outcomes) but granted a limited postponement of the reporting date to September 9, 2020; any further delay must be supported by adequate medical documentation.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether Stavrakis should be released pending appeal under 18 U.S.C. § 3143(b)	Detain: convicted defendant sentenced to imprisonment; appeal does not present a substantial question warranting release	Release: appeal raises substantial questions about sufficiency of the evidence and is not for delay	Denied: court found trial evidence sufficient and §3143(b) requirements unmet; defendant not released
Whether to postpone the surrender date because of COVID-19 risks	Opposed further delay; BOP mitigation efforts ongoing	Postpone: defendant’s age, health conditions, and assignment to FCI Texarkana create high risk of severe COVID-19 illness	Granted a limited postponement to Sept 9, 2020; no indefinite delay; future requests need medical documentation
Whether the defendant’s medical evidence establishes a heightened COVID-19 risk warranting release or indefinite delay	Challenges sufficiency of submitted medical proof; emphasizes BOP safeguards and Raia limits on court ordering release	Relies on physician letter and asserted conditions (cardiac disease, hypertension, obesity) to show heightened risk	Medical evidence was insufficiently documented for release; limited postponement but ordered formal medical documentation for further relief
Whether assignment to FCI Texarkana justifies release because of local COVID-19 prevalence	Notes BOP has implemented measures and courts are limited in ordering release even amid outbreaks	Argues facility is in a COVID-19 epicenter, increasing personal risk	Court recognized facility risk but relied on Raia and BOP efforts; did not order release, only a temporary reporting delay

Key Cases Cited

United States v. Raia, 954 F.3d 594 (3d Cir. 2020) (courts should accord substantial deference to BOP’s COVID-19 remediation efforts and are limited in ordering prisoner release)
Brown v. Plata, 563 U.S. 493 (2011) (describing prisons as locations prone to rapid disease spread and the public-health implications of confinement)