USCA11 Case: 22-12372 Document: 31-1 Date Filed: 07/31/2023 Page: 1 of 4
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
In the
United States Court of Appeals
For the Eleventh Circuit
____________________
No. 22-12372
Non-Argument Calendar
____________________
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
LAMAR LAURISTON LINDSAY,
a.k.a. Linsey Lamar,
a.k.a. Lamar S. Rowe,
Defendant-Appellant.
____________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
USCA11 Case: 22-12372 Document: 31-1 Date Filed: 07/31/2023 Page: 2 of 4
2 Opinion of the Court 22-12372
D.C. Docket No. 0:22-cr-60018-WPD-1
____________________
Before NEWSOM, GRANT and DUBINA, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Appellant Lamar Lindsay, proceeding with counsel, appeals
his total sentence of 135 months’ imprisonment for attempting to
distribute methamphetamine and possessing methamphetamine
with intent to distribute. On appeal, he argues that the district
court erred by finding that he was ineligible for safety valve relief
under
18 U.S.C. § 3553(f) because he met just one of the disqualify-
ing criteria in § 3553(f)(1). Having read the parties’ briefs and re-
viewed the record, we vacate Lindsay’s sentence and remand this
case to the district court for resentencing.
I.
We review a district court’s interpretation of § 3553(f) de
novo. United States v. Garcon,
54 F.4th 1274, 1277 (11th Cir. 2022)
(en banc), petition for cert. filed (U.S. Mar. 8, 2023) (No. 22-851).
II.
If a defendant meets the criteria in § 3553(f), he is entitled to
a two-point offense level reduction under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(18),
and the district court must sentence him without regard to any stat-
utory minimum sentence. U.S.S.G. §§ 2D1.1(b)(18), 5C1.2;
18
U.S.C. § 3553(f). The safety valve provision in § 3553(f)(1) applies
if the district court finds that the defendant does not have more
than four criminal history points, a prior three-point offense, and a
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22-12372 Opinion of the Court 3
prior two-point violent offense. § 3553(f)(1). In Garcon, we held
that the word “and” in § 3553(f)(1) is conjunctive, and that a de-
fendant is not disqualified from safety valve relief unless he meets
all three of the disqualifying criteria listed in § 3553(f)(1). Garcon,
54 F.4th at 1278-80. The government concedes that, under this
rule, Lindsay is eligible for safety valve relief.
III.
The record demonstrates that the district court erred by
finding that Lindsay did not qualify for safety valve relief under
§ 3553(f)(1). We stated in Garcon that a defendant is ineligible for
safety valve relief solely if all three disqualifying criteria in §
3553(f)(1) are met. See Garcon, 54 F.4th at 1278. The record indi-
cates that Lindsay had one disqualifying factor under § 3553(f)(1)
because he had a prior three-point offense, but he did not have
more than four criminal history points or a prior violent two-point
offense. See § 3553(f)(1). Because he did not meet all three disqual-
ifying criteria, he was not disqualified from obtaining safety valve
relief. See Garcon, 54 F.4th at 1278.
Here, the district court declined to apply the safety valve;
however, it selected a sentence within the guidelines range that
would have applied if it had applied the safety valve provision. Un-
der United States v. Keene,
470 F.3d 1347, 1349-50 (11th Cir. 2006), a
court can render a purposed guidelines error harmless by stating
that it would impose the same sentence even if the defendant pre-
vailed on that issue. If the district court makes a clear Keene finding,
then we need not review the disputed issue, but rather, we can
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4 Opinion of the Court 22-12372
affirm if the final sentence imposed based on the § 3553 factors is
reasonable. Id. The district court did not make a clear Keene find-
ing; thus, we conclude the sentencing error was not harmless.
Lindsay qualified for a two-level safety valve reduction, and he was
entitled to be sentenced without regard to any statutory minimum
sentence. Accordingly, the district court erred in its determination
that Lindsay was not eligible for safety valve relief, and we remand
to the district court for resentencing consistent with this opinion.
VACATED AND REMANDED.
