United States v. Alvarez

809 Fed. Appx. 562 (8th Cir. 2020)

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Nature of the Case

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Facts

D was the captain of the Miami Vice, a Florida-registered 91-foot performance yacht. The United States Coast Guard imposes regulations on the charter-boat industry to protect the safety of individuals engaged in commercial charters and their passengers. For a commercial charter for hire to be lawful, the captain of the charter must have taken a USCG-approved captain's license course and must have an active USCG captain's license. USCG-licensed captains are taught essential safety information, including the necessity of conducting a pre-voyage safety briefing with passengers; prudent seamanship, such as safe methods of navigation and mooring or anchoring a vessel in varying conditions; and the critical steps that must be taken before starting the vessel's engines, like conducting a head-count of all passengers and establishing a 360-degree lookout to observe dangers in the water. D never took the captain course, and he has never held a USCG license. In October 2017, a National Park Service ranger encountered D in the waters outside Biscayne National Park. D was on a jet ski, which was illegal to operate inside the park. D explained that he was a captain for a chartered vessel that was about 45 to 50 yards away. The ranger followed D back to the yacht and requested his commercial-use authorization for the National Park Service, his contract for the chartered vessel, and his USCG captain's license. D responded that he did not know what a commercial-use authorization was and that the contract for the vessel and his captain's license were left behind-a false statement. The ranger cited D for operating a personal watercraft and conducting a commercial business within the National Park without a permit. D was again issued a citation for operating a commercial charter without an appropriate USCG captain's license, in violation of USCG regulations. A week later a USCG Marine Inspector met with D and explained the USCG regulations governing the operation of commercial charters. He further told D that the manner in which the Miami Vice was being chartered was illegal because, among other reasons, D did not have a valid USCG captain's license. C.M. and R.M.P. paid for a charter. They met D, who identified himself as the captain of the Miami Vice, and D's son, who was acting as the first mate for their charter. Four friends of C.M. and R.M.P. also joined them and the Miami Vice departed with D as its captain. Upon arriving at Monument Island, D beached the Miami Vice-again, a 91-foot yacht-on Monument Island. C.M. and R.M.P. jumped into the bay and began swimming in the water behind the yacht. D also got into the water behind the Miami Vice and swam. C.M. and R.M.P. climbed out of the water back onto the rear swim platform of the yacht, where they had a conversation with D. D then raised the dive ladder and went to the helm in preparation to leave the island. C.M. and R.M.P. were not aware that D was preparing to start the engines and leave the island, so they jumped back into the water. D did not ensure that everyone was on board before he started the engines. Nor did he ask his first mate to go to the stern of the boat to ensure that the passengers were not on the rear swim platform or in the water behind the yacht during reversal. D started the engines and immediately placed them into reverse to back off the island. R.M.P. was pulled underneath the yacht as it reversed, leaving a cloud of blood in the water. C.M. and the passengers still on board the yacht yelled to D to turn off the engines, which he did. He then jumped into the water to look for R.M.P., but those attempts proved unsuccessful, as R.M.P. had been caught by the propellers and was killed. All of the survivors on board confirmed that D did not loudly announce that the boat was departing; did not perform any headcount to ensure that all of the passengers were on the boat before he started the engines; did not check behind the yacht before he engaged the engines in reverse; and did not establish anyone as a lookout in the rear of the vessel before he reversed the yacht. D concedes that these are all basic steps that a reasonable person at the helm of the Miami Vice would have taken to ensure the safety of passengers and others in the water prior to reversing the yacht. D's urine sample tested positive for the presence of cocaine. Video later extracted from D's cell phone depicted him snorting cocaine on March 29, 2018, just three days before the incident. D was charged with violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1115. D moved to dismiss the indictment, arguing in part that the statute unconstitutionally criminalized simple negligence, was vague and overbroad and violated D's right to remain silent by burden-shifting. The district court denied the motion. D entered a guilty plea but reserved his right to appeal. The court found that D's conduct qualified as reckless. It explained, D, as a seasoned and experienced boat captain, lacking the proper licensure nonetheless, consciously realized when he backed up that 90-foot yacht without the ability to see behind him, without checking to make sure there was no one-not just this poor victim, but no one in the vicinity of the risk he was creating by backing up that boat, that yacht. D appealed.