United States v. Leon Franco , 639 F. App'x 625 ( 2016 )

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[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 15-14957
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket No. 1:96-cr-00439-DLG-1
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
LEON FRANCO,
a.k.a. Lucas,
Defendant - Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
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(May 5, 2016)
Before HULL, MARCUS, and JORDAN, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
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In 1996, Leon Franco was indicted for conspiring to possess with the intent
to distribute cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. Mr. Franco pled guilty to
that charge, and the district court accepted the plea. According to the PSI, Mr.
Franco was the head of a Colombian group responsible for importing over 1,800
kilograms of cocaine. Because the offense involved over 150 kilograms of
cocaine, the PSI calculated a base offense level of 38, in accordance with the then-
applicable 1997 Sentencing Guidelines. Taking into account other guideline
adjustments, the PSI calculated a total offense level of 42 and criminal history of I,
which yielded a sentencing range of 360 months to life imprisonment. The district
court sentenced Mr. Franco to 360 months’ imprisonment, the low end of the
guideline range.
In 2015, Mr. Franco filed a motion for sentence reduction pursuant to 18
U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2), based on Amendment 782, which retroactively amended the
drug quantity table in U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c). In pertinent part, Amendment 782
increased the amount of cocaine necessary to qualify for a base offense level of 38
from at least 150 kilograms to at least 450 kilograms of cocaine. Because 1,800
kilograms—the amount Mr. Franco was responsible for—is still more than 450
kilograms, the district court found that Amendment 782 did not change Mr.
Franco’s base offense level and denied the motion for reduction of sentence.
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Mr. Franco, proceeding pro se, appeals the district court’s denial of his
motion. He contends that the district court abused its discretion by denying his §
3582(c)(2) motion without first considering the § 3553(a) factors. Upon review of
the record and consideration of the parties’ briefs, we affirm.
I
We review de novo a district court’s conclusions about the scope of its legal
authority under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). See United States v. Jones, 548 F.3d 1366,
1368 (11th Cir. 2008).
A district court must engage in a two-step analysis when considering a
motion for reduction of sentence under § 3582(c)(2). See United States v. Bravo,
203 F.3d 778, 780 (11th Cir. 2000). First, the court must determine the sentence it
would have imposed, given the defendant’s amended guideline range and keeping
all other guideline findings made at the original sentencing hearing constant. See
id. Second, the court must consider the factors in § 3553(a) and then determine, in
its discretion, whether to reduce the defendant’s sentence. See id. at 781. Of
course, the district court need not reach the second step of the analysis nor examine
the § 3553(a) factors if, as a threshold matter, the relevant amendment did not
lower the defendant’s sentencing range. See United States v. Webb, 565 F.3d 789,
793 (11th Cir. 2009). If a defendant’s guideline range would not be lowered by an
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amendment, the court cannot reduce the sentence. See United States v. Hamilton,
715 F.3d 328, 337 (11th Cir. 2013).
II
Under the Sentencing Guidelines in effect at the time of Mr. Franco’s
original sentencing, a drug quantity of 150 kilograms or more of cocaine resulted
in a base offense level of 38. See U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c)(1) (1997). As a result of
Amendment 782, the guidelines now provide that a drug quantity of 450 kilograms
or more of cocaine triggers a base offense level of 38. See U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c)(1)
(2014). At no point, however, has Mr. Franco disputed that he pled guilty to a
conspiracy involving more than 1,800 kilograms of cocaine. Indeed, at the original
sentencing hearing, the district court found that Mr. Franco was responsible for
“over a thousand kilos of cocaine.” Nevertheless, Mr. Franco argues that the
district court erred by failing to consider the § 3553(a) factors. That argument is
without merit.
The district court properly concluded that Mr. Franco was not eligible for a
sentence reduction under Amendment 782. Because Mr. Franco’s 1,800-
kilogram drug quantity still triggers a base offense level of 38, his new guideline
calculation yields an identical sentencing range of 360 months to life
imprisonment. A district court is not authorized to reduce a defendant’s sentence
under § 3582(c)(2) if an amendment to the sentencing guidelines would not lower
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that defendant’s applicable guideline range. See 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2); U.S.S.G.
§ 1B1.10(a)(2)(B). Once the district court correctly determined that Mr. Franco
was ineligible for relief, it was not obligated to continue to the second step in the §
3582(c)(2) analysis and evaluate the § 3553(a) factors. See Webb, 565 F.3d at 793.
III
Because retroactive application of the amended drug quantity table
promulgated by Amendment 782 did not affect Mr. Franco’s sentencing guideline
range, the district court was not authorized to grant a motion for reduction of
sentence. Accordingly, the district court properly denied Mr. Franco’s motion
under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2).
AFFIRMED.
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