Opinion
Case No. 3:16-cr-00382-JGC-1
10-01-2020
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff v. Hector J. LEBRON, Defendant
For the United States: Michael J. Freeman, Office of the U.S. Attorney, Toledo, Ohio. For Defendant: Donna M. Grill, Jennifer L. Wenger, Office of the Federal Public Defender, Toledo, Ohio.
For the United States: Michael J. Freeman, Office of the U.S. Attorney, Toledo, Ohio.
For Defendant: Donna M. Grill, Jennifer L. Wenger, Office of the Federal Public Defender, Toledo, Ohio.
ORDER
James G. Carr, Sr. U.S. District Judge
Defendant Hector J. Lebron seeks a sentence reduction and compassionate release from imprisonment pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) based upon his health condition and the Covid-19 pandemic. (Doc. 62). For the reasons stated below, I deny his motion.
A. Background
On October 22, 2018, Lebron pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance after police arrested him in possession of one kilogram of fentanyl. (Doc. 44, pgID 177). On April 19, 2019, I sentenced him to eighty-two months’ imprisonment. (Docs. 52, 54).
On May 1, 2020, less than nineteen months into his term, Lebron filed his motion, seeking to reduce his sentence to time served. (Doc. 62). He has exhausted his available administrative remedies by submitting a compassionate release request to prison authorities, which those authorities have denied. (Doc. 64-1, pgID 353).
Lebron is 47 years old. (Doc. 44, pgID 176). He has provided documentation that he suffers from atrial fibrillation, hypertension, and obesity. (Doc. 62-1). The Centers for Disease Control lists each of those as comorbidities more likely to produce severe illness in patients who become infected with the Covid-19 virus. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html.
Lebron currently is imprisoned in Federal Correctional Institution Canaan in Waymart, Pennsylvania. The Federal Bureau of Prisons ("BoP") has implemented extensive measures to protect inmates from infections. https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/covid19_status.jsp. BoP records reflect that, as of this date, four inmates at that prison have tested positive for Covid-19, https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/#:~:text=COVID% 2D19% 20Cases&text=There% 20are% 201% 2C880% 20federal% 20inmates,attributed% 20to% 20COVID% 2D19% 20disease (last visited Sept. 25, 2020), out of a total population of 1,139, https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/caa/ (last visited Sept. 25, 2020 ).
B. The Legal Standard
Section 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) states that a court:
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--
(i) extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction;
Pursuant to the requirement of 28 U.S.C. § 994(t), the Sentencing Commission promulgated a policy statement setting out the criteria for sentence reduction in U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13 which require that:
(1)(A) extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant the reduction;
(2) the defendant is not a danger to the safety of any other person or to the community, as provided in 18 U.S.C. § 3142(g) ; and
(3) the reduction is consistent with this policy statement.
Section 3553 lists the sentencing factors a court must consider as:
(1) the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant;
(2) the need for the sentence imposed--
(A) to reflect the seriousness of the offense, to promote respect for the law, and to provide just punishment for the offense;
(B) to afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct;
(C) to protect the public from further crimes of the defendant
....
C. Discussion
As discussed above, Lebron has medical conditions that put him at greater risk of a severe illness if he were to catch Covid-19, which could provide a basis for a finding of extraordinary circumstances. Consideration of the § 3553 factors, however, disqualifies him from relief.
1. Lebron's Criminal History
Lebron's life of crime began in 1992, when he was 18 years old, and was arrested for receiving stolen goods: an automobile. (Doc. 44, pgID 180).
In 1993, he was convicted of disorderly conduct in connection with a domestic dispute with the mother of his child. (Id. ). He was sentenced to six months’ probation, until he violated probation and was sentenced to one year's imprisonment. (Id. )
In 1994, a Providence, Rhode Island court convicted Lebron of manufacture and delivery of cocaine and sentenced him to five years with four years suspended and four years’ probation. (Id. ); (Doc. 45, pgID 195). Lebron violated his probation in 1998 and was sentenced to forty-eight months with twenty months suspended and twenty-eight months’ probation. (Doc. 44, pgID 180).
In 1995, Lebron was convicted of simple assault—domestic because he kicked his girlfriend in the face, causing her eyes to bleed and swell. (Doc. 44, pgID 181). The court imposed a one-year sentence, which it suspended, and one-year probation. (Id. ).
During the times when Lebron has been out of prison, he repeatedly drove with a suspended license, and police arrested and courts convicted him of doing so three times between 1995 and 1997, (Doc. 44, pgID 183-84), as well as five times between 2000 and 2004, (Id. , pgID 181-82).
In 2005, Lebron was convicted in federal court of possession with intent to distribute fifty grams or more of cocaine base and felon in possession of a firearm. (Id. ). Police seized eighty-four grams of crack cocaine during his arrest. (Id. ). He was sentenced to 120 months’ imprisonment and sixty months’ supervised release. (Id. ).
Lebron was released from prison in 2013 and was still on supervised release when he committed the offense for which he currently is incarcerated. (Doc. 45, pgID 195). But even having served a prior ten-year sentence did not deter Lebron from committing his most recent crime. That most recent conviction resulted from a traffic stop during which police found him in possession of one kilogram of Fentanyl. (Doc. 44, pgID 177).
2. Crime of Conviction
The conduct that led to Lebron's current incarceration was particularly severe. The court takes judicial notice that heroin/fentanyl addiction in this country has reached crisis levels and that Fentanyl is an especially addicting, dangerous, and unpredictable opiate that has exacerbated the crisis, resulting in many deaths. The kilogram of Fentanyl that Lebron possessed when he was arrested would have been sufficient to produce serious harm to many people. It is likely that it would have contributed to the deaths of some of them. Lebron's conduct in possession with the intent to distribute so much Fentanyl is extremely serious and shows absolute indifference to human life that cannot be overlooked.
3. Personal Characteristics
Lebron also has a demonstrated a capacity for violence. In connection with his 2005 conviction, he had a weapon in his possession along with a large quantity of cocaine. He has been convicted of domestic abuse and has another conviction for disorderly conduct committed during another domestic dispute.
Moreover, although they undoubtedly are lesser crimes, the fact Lebron has been convicted of driving on a suspended license eight times during the limited periods when he was not incarcerated further demonstrates his contempt for the rule of law.
His attitude of indifference to what's required of him is apparent from the fact that he has proven repeatedly that he will not conform to the requirements of probation or supervised release. Lebron's violation of supervised release in this case represents his third probation or supervised release violation. Thus, "the nature and circumstances of the offense and the history and characteristics of the defendant," 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(1), support continued incarceration. 4. Community Safety
In light of this history, I also find that Lebron would pose a significant danger to the community if released. He has demonstrated that he cannot be deterred from further participation in drug trafficking. He has demonstrated domestic violence in addition to being convicted as a felon in possession of a firearm in connection with his drug-trafficking business. I can think of no conditions of release that would safeguard society from the danger he poses
5. Deterrence
Granting Lebron's motion would seriously impair the core purposes of sentencing: individual and public deterrence. An even longer sentence did not deter his present crime. Releasing him now would have even less effect – both on him and on others, whom my sentence also sought to deter.
6. Other Factors
The other § 3553(a) sentencing factors also strongly support Lebron's continued incarceration. Lebron filed his petition seeking compassionate release only slightly more than one year after I sentenced him to an eighty-two-month term. Granting his request for a resentencing to time-served or to home confinement at this time would not fairly "reflect the seriousness of the offense, [ ] promote respect for the law, [or] provide just punishment for the offense." 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(2)(A).
Notwithstanding Lebron's medical condition, I find that his circumstances are not so compelling as to justify compassionate release and that his record strongly argues against release. Indeed, doing so would serve none of the § 3553(a) factors.
Accordingly, it is hereby
ORDERED THAT
Lebron's motion (Doc. 62) be, and the same hereby is, denied.
So ordered.