Mohammed Izzeddin, 22, was accused of violently raping a woman in Brooklyn on December 23rd while his partner in perversion held two other women at knifepoint.
Cops arrested Izzeddin in connection with the assault after EMS workers found him overdosed on drugs in his home on December 28th.
Now Izzeddin is free on supervised probation after a judge ruled that prosecutors were late in filing an indictment, according to the New York Post.
Lance Lazzaro, Izzeddin’s attorney, said the judge “had no choice.”
“He ruled that there was a violation, so he had no choice but to release him on [his own recognizance] or supervised release,” Lazzaro said. “So he chose supervised release. His hands are tied at that point.”
This is Mohammed Izzeddin (22).
Last weekend, he broke into a home and rapęd a 49-year-old woman in NY.
Yesterday, he was released without bail. pic.twitter.com/dXIUEi15E5
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) January 4, 2024
According to The Post, “The violation stems from Section 180.80 in New York State Criminal Procedure Law – which requires that the District Attorney’s Office file an indictment no later than six days after someone is placed in custody.”
EMS workers arrived at Izzeddin’s home a short time after 3 a.m. on December 28. Police were with them after realizing that a warrant had been issued for Izzeddin’s arrest in connection to the rape, Lazzaro argued.
In the hospital, his client was “cuffed the whole time” and was “then taken back to the 66th Precinct.”
Izzeddin, Lazzaro said, “was never free to leave.”
Thus, he argued, the 180.80 countdown clock should have started earlier than it did.
“His client wasn’t formally charged until around 1 p.m. on Dec. 28, but the countdown should have started the day before – because Izzeddin was already in police custody at 3 a.m. that morning, the attorney said,” The Post explains. “Whenever an arrest is made before 9 a.m. on a given date, the law states that the technical arrest date is the day before, which applies to this case, Lazzaro said.”
According to the outlet, court documents show that when Izzeddin was arraigned on charges of rape, burglary, robbery, assault, and a sexually motivated felony on Dec. 29, “All parties present at the arraignment – including Izzeddin’s then-attorney, Emily Davis of the Legal Aid Society, agreed that the 180.80 deadline was on Wednesday.”
Lazzaro took over Izzeddin’s case and argued that the deadline for prosecutors to file the indictment passed on Tuesday.
The deadline hadn’t been met, he said, and Izzeddin needed to be released.
Judge Christopher Robles sided with the defense attorney, and Izzeddin was allowed to leave on supervised supervision until his next court date.
CATCH AND RELEASED
Mohammed Izzeddin (22) Accused of raping a female worker inside a Brooklyn business nearly not even weeks ago
Charged with rape, robbery, assault and several other charges, according to police
Izzeddin was released on Wednesday due to a procedural… pic.twitter.com/SZgXFNKBAN
— Unlimited L’s (@unlimited_ls) January 4, 2024
Al Baker, a spokesperson for the state Office of Court Administration, backed Robles’ ruling.
“There is no loophole in this matter,” he said in a statement. “State law requires that defendants be indicted within the time prescribed by CPL section 180.80 if they are being detained with bail, as this defendant was. By all accounts, the ordered bail would have remained in place on Jan. 3 if the defendant had been timely indicted as is required under the law.”
Defense attorney Daniel Bibb, who used to work as a Manhattan prosecutor, said it’s all about “when that 180.80 clock starts.”
“If there’s an obvious delineation between start and stop,” he told The Post, “I think the prosecution gets the benefit.”
City Council Member Joseph Borelli warned that Izzeddin’s release will come with a cost.
“On the rare occasion our dopey liberal criminal justice laws allow for a violent criminal to be detained and held with bail, we can’t be dropping the ball on procedural error,” he said. “The public will pay for the prosecutor’s error and the judge’s determination.”
Lazzaro, meanwhile, insists Izzeddin is innocent.
“There was no rape,” he said. “There was absolutely no rape, and that’s going to be borne out when more things come to light.”
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Melissa Fine is the former executive editor of Casino Player, Strictly Slots, and Poker
Digest magazines. She is a UCLA graduate, news junkie, and dedicated Stargate SG-
1 fan. Melissa currently lives with her dog and two cats in a tiny town in the Sierra
Nevada foothills.
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