Opinion
1:16-cr-00306-RBJ
07-20-2021
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. JONATAN MALDONADO SALGADO, Defendant.
ORDER ON DEFENDANT'S MOTION FOR COMPASSIONATE RELEASE
R. Brooke Jackson, Judge
On March 10, 2021 Mr. Maldonado Salgado, representing himself, filed two motions, both seeking a compassionate release. ECF Nos. 356 and 357 The government opposes the motion. ECF No. 359. Mr. Maldonado Salgado has also requested permission to supplement his motion. ECF No. 360. After considering the motion, response and supplement, the applicable factors provided in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) and 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A), and the applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission, the motion is denied for the following reasons:
1. Jonatan Maldonado Salgado is a 24-year old man who was sentenced on January 11, 2018 to a total of 144 months plus three years of supervised release following his conviction of conspiracy to kidnap; kidnapping and aiding and abetting; and receipt of ransom money. By the Court's calculation he has served approximately 40% of his sentence. He states that his projected release date is April 1, 2027. He states that he has submitted a request for compassionate release to his warden but, as of the date of the motion, he had not received a response.
The percentage would be approximately 46% if measured against what he claims is his projected release date.
2. In support of his motion he states that he has asthma which is a risk factor for experiencing serious consequences if he contracts COVID-19. He provides supporting letters from the mother of his child, his mother, sister, brother-in-law, and two friends. ECF No. 356-4. He also provides a rehabilitation plan and certificates of courses he has completed in prison. ECF No. 356-6.
3. The government opposes the motion. ECF No. 359. In its response the government emphasizes the serious nature of the incident that resulted in defendant's conviction; the BOP' efforts to protect inmates from the virus; the failure of the defendant to provide information regarding the severity of the defendant's asthma (the only indication is that he has been prescribed an albuterol inhaler; and defendant's age. Id.
The Presentence Investigation Report indicated that Mr. Maldonado Salgado had reported a history of symptoms of a stroke, hypertension, and being assaulted with a baseball bat; and that FDC medical records also indicated that he had been diagnosed with gastro-esophageal reflux disease; but there was no mention of asthma. ECF No. 291 at 12-13.
4. In his supplement, Mr. Maldonado Salgado reports that the warden denied his request for a compassionate release. I note that the government concedes that he exhausted his administrative remedies.
5. The Court agrees that Mr. Maldonado Salgado's service of less than half of his sentence, even measured against his claimed projected release date, weighs against the granting of his motion, particularly given the serious nature of his crimes. The Court also agrees that he has not provided a case of an extraordinary or compelling risk to his health. We have no medical information regarding the seriousness of his asthma or the risk it creates to a 24-year old individual. He has provided no information regarding the efforts of the BOP facility in which he is incarcerated to protect the inmates from COVID, nor the success or failure of those efforts. He has not indicated whether he has received, and if not, whether he has been offered vaccination against the virus.
ORDER
Defendant's motion to supplement, ECF No. 360, is granted. However, defendant's motions for compassionate release, ECF Nos. 356 and 357, are DENIED.