Opinion
1:18-CR-00144 EAW
10-09-2020
UNITED STATES of America, v. Andre HONEYCUTT, Defendant.
Meghan A. Tokash, Michael Paul Felicetta, United States Attorney's Office, Buffalo, NY, for United States of America. John Michael Ange, Ange & Ange, Buffalo, NY, for Defendant Andre Honeycutt.
Meghan A. Tokash, Michael Paul Felicetta, United States Attorney's Office, Buffalo, NY, for United States of America.
John Michael Ange, Ange & Ange, Buffalo, NY, for Defendant Andre Honeycutt.
DECISION AND ORDER
ELIZABETH A. WOLFORD, United States District Judge
I. INTRODUCTION
Pending before the Court is a motion filed by defendant Andre Honeycutt (hereinafter "Defendant") for compassionate release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). (Dkt. 110). For the reasons set forth below, Defendant's motion is denied.
II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Defendant was indicted on July 5, 2018, with conspiracy to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. (Dkt. 15). On May 9, 2019, Defendant appeared before the undersigned and pleaded guilty to the drug conspiracy charged in the Indictment. (Dkt. 67; Dkt. 68). Defendant was sentenced by the undersigned on December 11, 2019, to a five year prison sentence with five years supervised release to follow. (Dkt. 98; Dkt. 100). Defendant is currently housed at Allenwood Medium Federal Correctional Institution ("FCI Allenwood (Medium)") in Pennsylvania, and his projected release date is June 11, 2022. See Find an Inmate , Fed. Bureau of Prisons, https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/ (last visited Oct. 9, 2020). According to a Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") website, FCI Allenwood (Medium) has 78 inmates and nine staff who are currently testing positive for COVID-19, with 21 inmates and one staff member who previously tested positive and have recovered. See COVID-19: Coronavirus , Fed. Bureau of Prisons, https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/ (last visited Oct. 9, 2020). That same website indicates that a total of 469 tests have been administered to inmates at the facility, with one pending test and 100 positive tests. Id. According to the website, no inmates or staff at the facility have died from the virus. Id. Defendant now seeks to be released because of the COVID-19 pandemic and his pre-existing health conditions of complications for gun shot wounds, high blood pressure, obesity, and high cholesterol. (Dkt. 110). Although initially filed pro se , the Federal Public Defender's Office has since appeared on Defendant's behalf. (Dkt. 112).
It is not clear how there could be 100 positive tests and one inmate with results pending, but 78 inmates currently testing positive with 21 inmates who have recovered (i.e. , for a total of 99 inmates). There seems to be one inmate who is not accounted for with these numbers.
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The government opposes Defendant's motion on the grounds that the factors set forth at 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) do not support a reduction in sentence, and that a sentence reduction would not be consistent with the Sentencing Commission's policy statements. (Dkt. 116 at 5).
The United States Probation Office ("USPO") has submitted a memorandum to the Court dated September 1, 2020, noting that Defendant "has been arrested thirty-four (34) times from age of 13 until the instant offense." (Dkt. 119 at 1). The memorandum goes on to note that Defendant "violated Erie County Probation on three occasions and had his New York State Parole revoked on six (6) occasions." (Id. ).
III. LEGAL STANDARD AND ANALYSIS
"A court may not modify a term of imprisonment once it has been imposed except pursuant to statute." United States v. Gotti , 433 F. Supp. 3d 613, 614 (S.D.N.Y. 2020). The compassionate release statute, as amended by the First Step Act, is such a statutory exception, and provides as follows:
The court may not modify a term of imprisonment once it has been imposed except that ... the court, upon motion of the Director of the Bureau of Prisons, or upon motion of the defendant after the defendant has fully exhausted all administrative rights to appeal a failure of the Bureau of Prisons to bring a motion on the defendant's behalf or the lapse of 30 days from the receipt of such a request by the warden of the defendant's facility, whichever is earlier, may reduce the term of imprisonment (and may impose a term of probation or supervised release with or without conditions that does not exceed the unserved portion of the original term of imprisonment), after considering the factors set forth in section 3553(a) to the extent that they are applicable, if it finds that ... extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction ... and that such a reduction is consistent with applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission[.]
18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). Relief is appropriate pursuant to § 3582(c)(1)(A) when the following conditions are met: (1) the exhaustion requirement of the statute is satisfied; (2) extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant a reduction of the prison sentence; (3) the factors set forth at 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) support modification of the prison term; and (4) the reduction in the prison sentence is consistent with the Sentencing Commission's policy statements.
The Government does not oppose Defendant's application on exhaustion grounds, as he has filed a request with the Warden at FCI Allenwood (Medium) for release and more than 30 days have elapsed since the Warden's receipt of that request, which was denied. (Dkt. 116 at 2); see also United States v. Wen , 454 F. Supp. 3d 187, 192–94 (W.D.N.Y. 2020) (as a claim-processing rule, § 3582(c)(1)(A) ’s exhaustion requirement is not jurisdictional and thus subject to the doctrines of waiver and equitable estoppel). Thus, the exhaustion requirements of the statute do not operate to bar the Court's consideration of the motion. However, the Court agrees with the Government that the § 3553(a) factors warrant against granting Defendant's requested relief. While Defendant's medical conditions appear to present a heightened risk for serious illness from COVID-19, see Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19): People with Certain Medical Conditions , Ctrs. for Disease Control & Prevention (Oct. 9, 2020), https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html, and while there appear to be a significant number of cases of COVID-19 at the facility where Defendant is housed, Defendant's criminal history and current offense of conviction reflect that he has engaged in a lifetime of criminal conduct and would present a danger to the community if released.
Defendant is 52 years old (Dkt. 93 at 2), and his criminal history dates back to the age of 13 (id. at ¶ 29). When he was 23 years old, Defendant received his first felony convictions (two counts of attempted criminal sale of controlled substance, third degree) and was sentenced to one to three years incarceration. (Id. at ¶ 48). Although paroled in October 1992, that parole was revoked less than two years later. (Id. ). In January 1997, Defendant was convicted after a jury trial in Erie County Court of various felony drug and weapon counts. (Id. at ¶ 50). Defendant was sentenced to incarceration and was released on parole in May 2001, but in October 2002 his parole was revoked. (Id. ). In August 2002, Defendant was again convicted of a felony drug charge, he was sentenced to prison, and then once paroled, that parole was revoked on two subsequent occasions. (Id. at ¶ 51). This pattern continued in 2008, when Defendant was convicted of a felony drug charge, he was sentenced to prison, and he was paroled and then had his parole revoked on multiple occasions. (Id. at ¶ 55). In addition to these multiple felony convictions, Defendant also has repeated misdemeanor convictions as part of his criminal history, the most recent occurring in 2017 (see id. at ¶¶ 32, 33, 34, 37, 40, 44, 49, 52, 54, 56, 57, 58, 60, 61, 62), and at sentencing in this matter it was calculated that he was a criminal history category VI (id. at ¶ 63). The current offense of conviction involved Defendant's involvement in a conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine between December 2017 and March 2018. (Dkt. 67 at ¶ 4).
While it is hoped that Defendant will not continue with this pattern of criminal conduct once released from prison, his track record suggests that Defendant has been engaged in drug trafficking for his entire adult life, and no incarceration or supervision imposed up until this point have caused him to change his behavior. Under the circumstances, notwithstanding the COVID-19 pandemic and Defendant's pre-existing medical conditions, it would not be appropriate to reduce Defendant's prison sentence. See United States v. Ebbers , 432 F. Supp. 3d 421, 430-31 (S.D.N.Y. 2020) ("The Court thus finds that, in considering the section 3553(a) factors, it should assess whether those factors outweigh the ‘extraordinary and compelling reasons’ warranting compassionate release, particularly whether compassionate release would undermine the goals of the original sentence.").
In sum, the Court appreciates that Defendant is concerned about the pandemic and being housed in a correctional facility with certain medical conditions that place him at an increased risk for serious illness from COVID-19. Moreover, the Court recognizes that prison settings can present challenges in thwarting the spread of this virus. However, on the record before the Court, a reduction of Defendant's prison sentence is not warranted. IV. CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, Defendant's motion for compassionate release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) (Dkt. 110) is denied.
SO ORDERED.