Opinion
1:15-CR-00091 EAW
01-05-2021
UNITED STATES of America, v. Carlos LABOY, Defendant.
Thomas S. Duszkiewicz, U.S. Attorney's Office, Buffalo, NY, for United States of America. Brian P. Comerford, Federal Public Defender, Buffalo, NY, for Defendant Amber Crouse. Nathaniel L. Barone, II, Jamestown, NY, for Defendant Carlos Laboy.
Thomas S. Duszkiewicz, U.S. Attorney's Office, Buffalo, NY, for United States of America.
Brian P. Comerford, Federal Public Defender, Buffalo, NY, for Defendant Amber Crouse.
Nathaniel L. Barone, II, Jamestown, NY, for Defendant Carlos Laboy.
DECISION AND ORDER
ELIZABETH A. WOLFORD, United States District Judge
Pending before the Court is a motion by defendant Carlos Laboy (hereinafter "Defendant") for compassionate release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) based on the COVID-19 pandemic. (Dkt. 147). For the reasons set forth below, Defendant's motion is denied.
Defendant has also filed a separate motion pursuant to § 3582(c)(1)(A) seeking a sentence reduction based on the argument that he was misclassified as a career offender. (Dkt. 143). The Court will address that motion in a separate Decision and Order in due course.
After pleading guilty pursuant to a plea agreement to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute, 100 grams or more of heroin in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, Defendant was sentenced by the undersigned on September 21, 2017, to 180 months in prison to be followed by four years of supervised release. (Dkt. 114). Defendant is currently housed at Federal Correctional Institution Allenwood Low ("FCI Allenwood Low"), with a scheduled release date of March 28, 2028. See Find an Inmate , Fed. Bureau of Prisons, https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/ (last visited Jan. 4, 2021). The Bureau of Prisons ("BOP") identifies FCI Allenwood Low as having a total inmate population of 895. See Fed. Bureau of Prisons, https://www.bop.gov/locations/ci/mvc/ (last visited Jan. 4, 2021). According to the BOP's website tracking COVID-19 cases in its facilities, as of January 4, 2021, FCI Allenwood Low has 57 inmates currently testing positive for the virus causing COVID-19, with 179 inmates who have recovered. See COVID-19: Coronavirus , Fed. Bureau of Prisons, https://www.bop.gov/coronavirus/ (last visited Jan. 5, 2021).
"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 [BOP] ..., or upon motion of the defendant after the defendant has fully exhausted all administrative rights to appeal a failure of the [BOP] ... 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; and (3) the factors set forth at 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) support modification of the prison term. "The defendant carries the burden of showing that he or she is entitled to a sentence reduction under the statute." United States v. Roney , No. 10-CR-130S, 2020 WL 2846946, at *2 (W.D.N.Y. June 2, 2020), aff'd , No. 20-1834, 833 F. App'x 850 (2d Cir. Nov. 2, 2020).
Although the statute references the Sentencing Commission's policy statements, the Second Circuit has held that U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13 Application Note 1(D) does not apply to compassionate release motions brought directly to the court, and therefore a court is not constrained by the Sentencing Guideline's policy statements as to what constitutes "extraordinary and compelling." United States v. Brooker , 976 F.3d 228, 236 (2d Cir. 2020).
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Here, Defendant has not met his burden to establish that the COVID-19 pandemic, in and of itself, constitutes extraordinary and compelling reasons justifying a reduction in his sentence. Defendant's request for release cites to the COVID-19 pandemic, but it provides no further specifics as to why compassionate release should be granted in his case. (Dkt. 147). The government agrees that Defendant has exhausted his administrative remedies, but it otherwise opposes Defendant's motion. (Dkt. 149). The United States Probation Office has submitted a memorandum which notes, in part, that Defendant "did not report in his motion or in his Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) any prior medical conditions that put him at a higher risk to contract Covid-19." (Dkt. 175 at 1).
Under the circumstances, the Court concludes that Defendant has failed to establish extraordinary and compelling reasons justifying a sentence reduction. Accordingly, it need not and does not address the § 3553(a) factors.
For the foregoing reasons, Defendant's motion for compassionate release based on the COVID-19 pandemic pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) (Dkt. 147) is denied, as is his related request for appointment of counsel. This Decision and Order does not impact Defendant's separately-filed motion for relief pursuant to § 3582(c)(1)(A) based on his career offender classification (Dkt. 143), which as previously noted will be addressed in a separate Decision and Order to be issued in due course.
SO ORDERED.