United States of America v. Anthony Pica

Brooklyn, New York criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with first-degree murder.

Pica, Salvatore Maniscalco, Jr., and John Delutro learned on a day late in April 2008 that Louis Antonelli, a jeweler, would have with him a large amount of jewelry and cash later that day. They set out to rob Antonelli of those possessions. Shortly before the robbery attempt, Maniscalco and Delutro surveilled the intersection of Broadway and Castleton Avenue in Staten Island and determined that Antonelli could be approached as he exited a basement storage area at this location. Based on this surveillance, Pica collaborated with Maniscalco and Delutro to formulate a plan.

United States v. Pica, 20-3677 (2nd Cir. Jul 01, 2024)

Defendant was sentenced to 264 months in prison.



Defendant appealed claiming that the court erroneously

y applied U.S.S.G. § 2A1.1, the Sentencing Guideline for first-degree murder, in sentencing him. Having been convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery and attempted robbery, Pica argues that the district court should have sentenced him under U.S.S.G. § 2B3.1. We hold that the district court properly applied U.S.S.G. § 2A1.1, pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2B3.1(c)'s cross-reference thereto, based on its "determination that a co-participant's act of murdering the robbery victim was relevant conduct under U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3(a)(1)(B)." United States v. Pica, 20-3677 (2nd Cir. Jul 01, 2024)



(a) The punishment for murder in the first degree shall be not less than 30 years nor more than life imprisonment without release, except that the court may impose a prison sentence in excess of 60 years only in accordance with § 22-2104.01 or § 24-403.01(b-2).



Affirmed