Opinion
CRIMINAL ACTION NO. 15-CR-10397-RWZ
01-21-2021
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. JAMIE RIVERA
ORDER
Defendant pled guilty to an indictment charging him with the use of interstate commerce facilities in the commission of murder-for-hire, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1958(a), and distribution of a controlled substance, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). He was sentenced to imprisonment for 108 months followed by three years of supervised release and is scheduled to be released on January 1, 2023. The matter is before me on defendant's pro se motion for compassionate release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) based on the COVID-19 pandemic. Docket # 106.
A motion for compassionate release may be granted upon a determination that "extraordinary and compelling reasons" warrant a sentence reduction, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), after consideration also of the sentencing factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). In support of his motion, defendant asserts that he is incarcerated in close proximity with over 100 other prisoners from whom he cannot socially distance. He argues that he is at an "unfair risk of death [if] the Bureau of Prisons cannot contain or completely protect it[]s inmate population from the COVID-19 virus." FCI Berlin, where defendant is incarcerated, reports no active COVID-19 cases at this time. Nine previously infected inmates have all recovered. Defendant has proffered no evidence that FCI Berlin is ill equipped to mitigate the transmission of or to treat the novel coronavirus. He thus fails to establish any extraordinary or compelling basis for the exceptional remedy he seeks. In addition, the offense conduct includes a dangerous murder-for-hire plot against a rival gang member. The sentence imposed was 60 months below the Guideline range, and defendant does not demonstrate that he is entitled to a further reduction.
COVID-19 Cases, FEDERAL BUREAU OF PRISONS, https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/ (last visited January 21, 2021).
Id. --------
The motion for compassionate release (Docket # 106) is DENIED. January 21, 2021
DATE
/s/_________
RYA W. ZOBEL
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE