United States of America v. Cabrera
- John Cronan
- 1:24-cv-05594
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 4
United States v. Cabrera: Judge Cronan denied Cabrera’s sentence-challenge motion, enforcing his plea waiver and ruling that completed Hobbs Act robbery supported the firearm conviction.
Jose Cabrera’s attempt to vacate or set aside his sentence and firearm conviction under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 was denied; the court also denied his request to appeal without paying fees.
What happened
In United States of America v. Jose Cabrera, Cabrera pleaded guilty to a Hobbs Act robbery and possessing a firearm in furtherance of that robbery. He received consecutive sentences totaling 120 months in prison.
Cabrera later asked the court to set aside his sentence, arguing that Hobbs Act robbery could not support his firearm conviction. The government’s position, as described by the court, was that Cabrera’s plea agreement barred this challenge because he had agreed not to bring such a challenge if his sentence was 131 months or less.
Judge John P. Cronan denied the motion. He ruled that Cabrera knowingly and voluntarily waived collateral challenges to a sentence within the agreed range and also ruled that a completed Hobbs Act robbery is a crime of violence that can support the firearm conviction. The court denied Cabrera’s request to proceed without paying appeal fees.
The detailed version
- United States of America v. Cabrera · No. 1:24-cv-05594
- John Cronan
- Dec. 5, 2025
Background
On April 28, 2022, Jose Cabrera pleaded guilty to committing a Hobbs Act robbery, violating 18 U.S.C. § 1951, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of that crime of violence, violating 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i). The conviction arose from Cabrera’s participation in a March 12, 2021, gunpoint robbery of a laundromat in the Bronx. He admitted during the plea hearing that he obtained $1,500 through actual or threatened force and possessed a firearm during the robbery.
Cabrera’s plea agreement stated that he would not appeal or bring a collateral challenge—including a motion under 28 U.S.C. § 2255 to vacate or set aside his sentence—if the prison sentence was within or below the stipulated range of 117 to 131 months. The court sentenced him to 60 months for each offense, to run consecutively, for a total of 120 months, followed by three years of supervised release.
Cabrera’s Motion
On July 16, 2024, Cabrera filed a § 2255 motion arguing that Hobbs Act robbery is not a crime of violence and therefore could not serve as the predicate offense for his firearm conviction under § 924(c).
Court’s Analysis
The court held that the plea agreement barred Cabrera’s motion because his 120-month sentence was within the agreed range. The court found that Cabrera knowingly and voluntarily accepted the waiver during his guilty-plea hearing. It explained that such waivers are presumptively valid and identified five circumstances in which a court may refuse to enforce one: the waiver was not knowing, voluntary, and competent; the sentence was based on constitutionally impermissible factors; the government breached the agreement; the court gave no rationale for the sentence; or the waiver lacked consideration. The court stated that Cabrera did not argue that any of those circumstances applied.
The court also addressed the merits of Cabrera’s argument. It distinguished the Supreme Court’s ruling that attempted Hobbs Act robbery is not a crime of violence from the Second Circuit’s ruling that completed Hobbs Act robbery is categorically a crime of violence. Because Cabrera pleaded guilty to and admitted completing the robbery, the court concluded that his § 924(c) conviction was supported by a qualifying crime of violence.
Disposition
The court denied Cabrera’s § 2255 motion. It certified that any appeal would not be taken in good faith and denied permission to appeal without paying the required fees. The Clerk was directed to close the relevant docket in the criminal case and close the related civil case.
Read the full 4-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.