United States v. Lance Ross , 472 F. App'x 881 ( 2012 )

[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT FILED
_________________________ U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
JUNE 19, 2012
No. 11-16019
JOHN LEY
Non-Argument Calender
CLERK
__________________________
D.C. Docket No. 4:00-cr-00066-HLM-CCH-1
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
LANCE ROSS,
Defendant - Appellant.
__________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Georgia
___________________________
(June 19, 2012)
Before TJOFLAT, CARNES and KRAVITCH, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
In 2008, under an amendment to the sentencing guidelines, the district court
reduced Lance Ross’ 228-month prison sentence for one count of possession with
intent to distribute at least 50 grams of crack cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §
841(a) (Count 1) and one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug
trafficking crime in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) (Count 2). Because Ross was
responsible for 314.3 grams of crack cocaine, the court calculated a base offense
level of 32. See United States Sentencing Guidelines § 2D1.1(c)(4) (Nov. 2007).
After a 3-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility, see U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1,
Ross’ total offense level was 29. Combined with his criminal history category of
V, the result was a guidelines range of 140 to 175 months imprisonment. The
court sentenced Ross to 140 months in prison on Count 1 and to 60 months on
Count 2, with each sentence to run consecutively, see 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i),
(D)(ii) (imposing a mandatory minimum consecutive prison sentence of 60 months
for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime).
In 2011 Ross, acting pro se, filed an 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) motion for a
sentence reduction based on Amendment 750 to the sentencing guidelines, which
revised the crack cocaine quantity tables in U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c). The district court
denied that motion, and Ross has appealed. We review only for abuse of
discretion a district court’s denial of a § 3582(c)(2) motion for a sentence
2
reduction. United States v. Williams, 557 F.3d 1254, 1256 (11th Cir. 2009).
Under Amendment 750, the guidelines assign a base offense level of 32 for
cases involving at least 280 grams but less than 840 grams of crack cocaine.
U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c)(4) (Nov. 2011). Ross was responsible for 314.3 grams of
crack cocaine, so his total offense level, after a 3-level reduction for acceptance
responsibility, is 29. Combined with a criminal history category of V, his
guidelines range after Amendment 750 is 140 to 175 months, the same guidelines
range calculated by the district court in 2008. Amendment 750 had no effect on
Ross’ guidelines range, so the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying
Ross’ motion. See Williams, 557 F.3d at 1256 (“A district court may modify a
term of imprisonment in the case of a defendant who was sentenced to a term of
imprisonment based on a sentencing range that has subsequently been lowered by
the Sentencing Commission. This authority is limited to those guideline
amendments . . . that have the effect of lowering the defendant’s applicable
guideline range.” (citation and quotation marks omitted)).
AFFIRMED.1
1
Ross’ contention that the district court erroneously construed his 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2)
motion as a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion is meritless.
3