United States v. Gage ( 2021 )

Case: 20-20346 Document: 00516148177 Page: 1 Date Filed: 12/29/2021
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
December 29, 2021
No. 20-20346
Lyle W. Cayce
Summary Calendar Clerk
United States of America,
Plaintiff—Appellee,
versus
Jeramy Jerome Gage,
Defendant—Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 4:12-CR-336-1
Before Jones, Duncan, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam:*
Jeramy Jerome Gage, federal prisoner # 72053-279, appeals from the
district court’s denial of his 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) motion requesting
a reduction in his sentence based on the danger of COVID-19 in light of his
alleged health issues. Gage’s motion to stay the appeal is denied.
*
Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this
opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited
circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4.
Case: 20-20346 Document: 00516148177 Page: 2 Date Filed: 12/29/2021
No. 20-20346
The Government moves to dismiss the appeal because Gage argues
that compassionate release is warranted based on specific family
circumstances that were not presented to the Bureau of Prisons or to the
district court prior to the denial of Gage’s reconsideration motion. We may
pretermit the exhaustion issue where, as here, the case can easily be resolved
on the merits. See United States v. Franco, 973 F.3d 465, 467 (5th Cir.), cert.
denied, 141 S. Ct. 920 (2020). Thus, we deny the Government’s motion to
dismiss. We dispense with further briefing as unnecessary and deny the
alternative motion to extend the deadline for the appellee’s brief. See United
States v. Bailey, 924 F.3d 1289, 1290 (5th Cir. 2019).
Gage’s motion to supplement the record on appeal with a letter from
his child’s caregiver is denied. See Theriot v. Parish of Jefferson, 185 F.3d 477,
491 n.26 (5th Cir. 1999). To the extent that Gage renews the arguments he
raised in the district court regarding his prison disciplinary record and a
family member’s health, he has failed to show that the district court abused
its discretion in denying his motion for compassionate release. See United
States v. Thompson, 984 F.3d 431, 433 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 141 S. Ct. 2688(2021); United States v. Chambliss, 948 F.3d 691, 693 (5th Cir. 2020).
Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
AFFIRMED; MOTIONS DENIED.
2