Opinion
19-10137-09-EFM
06-11-2024
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. ABRAHAM GUTIERREZ-OJEDA, Defendant.
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
ERIC F. MELGREN CHIEF UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
This matter comes before the Court on pro se Defendant Abraham Gutierrez-Ojeda's Motion for Sentence Reduction Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) (Doc. 426). He seeks a sentence reduction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) and Amendment 821 to the United States Sentencing Guidelines. For the reasons stated below, the Court dismisses Defendant's motion.
The Federal Public Defender's Office declined representation of Defendant in this matter.
On December 13, 2021, Defendant pleaded guilty to Count I of the Superseding Indictment, distribution of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). On April 25, 2022, the Court sentenced Defendant to 86 months' imprisonment. On May 13, 2024, Defendant submitted this motion seeking a reduction in his sentence. The government opposes the motion.
Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), a defendant may file his own motion for a sentence reduction provided certain factors are met. Specifically, § 3582(c)(2) allows a court to reduce a term of imprisonment “in the case of a defendant who has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment based on a sentencing range that has subsequently been lowered by the Sentencing Commission pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 994(o)” and after considering § 3553(a) factors so long as the reduction “is consistent with applicable policy statements.”
Id.
Defendant states that he is a zero-point offender and requests that his sentence be reduced. Effective November 1, 2023, the Sentencing Commission amended the United States Sentencing Guidelines. Part A of Amendment 821 limits the criminal history impact of “status points,” and Part B of Amendment 821 creates a new guideline, § 4C1.1, that provides for a decrease of two offense levels for “Zero-Point Offenders.”
See 88 Fed.Reg. 28,254, 2023 WL 3199918 (May 3, 2023).
See https://www.ussc.gov/guidelines/amendment/821 (last visited June 11, 2024); see also U.S.S.G. § 4A1.1; § 4C1.1.
In this case, Defendant is indeed a zero-point offender. But he is still not entitled to relief. Pursuant to § 4C1.1, an adjustment for certain zero-point offenders is only warranted if all the criteria are met. One of the requirements is that “the defendant did not possess, receive, purchase, transport, transfer, sell, or otherwise dispose of a firearm or other dangerous weapon (or induce another participant to do so) in connection with the offense.” According to Defendant's PSR, he possessed a firearm during the offense. Thus, Defendant is ineligible for a sentence reduction.
See U.S.S.G. § 4C1.1(a)(1)-(10) (stating that if the defendant meets all ten requirements, the defendant's offense level will be decreased by two levels).
U.S.S.G. § 4C1.1(a)(7).
See also United States v. Foy, 2024 WL 1604634, at *2 (D. Kan. April 12, 2024) (finding that the defendant received a two-level enhancement for possessing a firearm in connection with his offense and was thus ineligible for a sentence reduction pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 4C1.1. (a)(7)).
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Defendant's Motion for Sentence Reduction Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) (Doc. 426) is DISMISSED.
IT IS SO ORDERED.