NEW YORK.- Gerardo Mérida Sánchez, former military man and former Secretary of Security of the state of Sinaloa, Mexico, entered room 618 of the Southern District Court of New York, chained at his feet, waist and hands, where he faced his second hearing on the way to a trial still without a start date.

The retired general pleaded “not guilty” in a first hearing, but this Tuesday's hearing served for Judge Katherine Polk Failla to clarify part of the procedure regarding the evidence and proof that prosecutors must deliver to the defense, led by lawyer Sarah Krisoff.

Mérida Sánchez faces three charges: 1) attempted conspiracy to import/export narcotics; 2) violent crime related to drugs, machine guns and destructive weapons, and 3) conspiracy to commit a violent crime related to drugs, machine guns and destructive weapons.

At one point the judge addressed the possible “abundance” of evidence, as well as the arrival in “waves” of other defendants, taking into consideration that in the same process that Mérida Sánchez faces, the Department of Justice integrated nine other defendants. The former military man is the only one confirmed in prison and in the process of trial.

Before beginning the hearing, the judge asked Mérida Sánchez about the translation, since she had an interpreter at her disposal, after which she indicated that over a period of 60 days, the prosecutors – represented by assistant prosecutor David Robles – must deliver evidence, through various motions.

The judge indicated that with such information Mérida Sánchez “will be able to evaluate and discuss her defense options.”

There is no particular date when prosecutors must turn over the information to the defense, or how it will be reviewed, but the next hearing date is August 4, at 4:30 p.m. ET. The time that has elapsed until then will be discarded from the count for an expedited trial, in order to protect the right of the accused, who expressed his understanding of the procedure.

Mérida Sánchez is part of a package of 10 accusations against current and retired politicians in Mexico who allegedly colluded with organized crime, particularly with the Sinaloa Cartel. The retired general surrendered in Arizona, from where he was sent to the Southern District Court of New York.

A retired and crestfallen military man

It was 12:16 when retired general Mérida Sánchez entered the room escorted by two elements of the U.S. Army. Marshals, he walked slowly, because he was chained by the feet, he looked crestfallen, although he smiled a few times when talking to his lawyer Krisoff. The bailiffs removed the handcuffs and the chain around his waist.

The hearing was scheduled for 12:00 p.m., but the defendant's arrival was delayed, without any explanation. The judge entered the courtroom at 12:22 p.m. and for less than 10 minutes he addressed the process of Mérida Sánchez, who was wearing a beige uniform and a gray sweater under her shirt.

The accused spoke for a moment with his lawyer with the support of the translator, but that moment was inaudible, because a sound system was turned on, like a television on a channel with no signal, to provide some privacy to the accused and his defense.

Neither prosecutor Robles nor lawyer Kissoff had more to add. The judge ended the hearing, after which the officers handcuffed Mérida Sánchez again to take him out of the courtroom and take him back to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.

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