United States v. Craig Smalls ( 2020 )

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 20-7096
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
CRAIG NEILDONDO SMALLS,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at
Raleigh. James C. Dever III, District Judge. (5:08-cr-00337-D-1)
Submitted: December 22, 2020 Decided: December 29, 2020
Before NIEMEYER, FLOYD, and RICHARDSON, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Craig Neildondo Smalls, Appellant Pro Se. Kristine L. Fritz, Assistant United States
Attorney, Jennifer P. May-Parker, Assistant United States Attorney, Joshua L. Rogers,
Assistant United States Attorney, Banumathi Rangarajan, OFFICE OF THE UNITED
STATES ATTORNEY, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Craig Neildondo Smalls appeals the district court’s order denying his motion
seeking relief pursuant to Section 404 of the First Step Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-391,
132 Stat. 5194. We review a district court’s decision whether to grant or deny a reduction
under the First Step Act for abuse of discretion. See United States v. Jackson, 952 F.3d
492, 497 (4th Cir. 2020). If the defendant is eligible for First Step Act relief, as the district
court concluded that Small is, the district court nevertheless has discretion to determine
whether to reduce the defendant’s sentence. United States v. Gravatt, 953 F.3d 258, 261
(4th Cir. 2020); see First Step Act, § 404(c), 132 Stat. at 5222. We have reviewed the
record and find no reversible error. Accordingly, we affirm for the reasons stated by the
district court. United States v. Smalls, No. 5:08-cr-00337-D-1) (E.D.N.C. May 8, 2020).
We deny the motion to appoint counsel. We dispense with oral argument because the facts
and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and
argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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