United States v. Paul Castillo ( 2024 )

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 24-2439
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United States of America
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee
v.
Paul Morales Castillo, also known as Paulo Morales Castillo
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Southern District of Iowa - Central
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Submitted: November 8, 2024
Filed: November 14, 2024
[Unpublished]
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Before LOKEN, GRUENDER, and GRASZ, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Federal prisoner Paul Castillo appeals following the district court’s1 denial of
a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) based on Guidelines Amendment
1
The Honorable Stephanie M. Rose, Chief Judge, United States District Court
for the Southern District of Iowa.
821. His appointed counsel argues that the court abused its discretion in declining
to reduce the sentence, and has filed a motion seeking leave to withdraw. Upon
careful review, we conclude that the court did not abuse its discretion, as it properly
considered the amended Guidelines range and the applicable 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)
factors. See United States v. Burrell, 622 F.3d 961, 963-66 (8th Cir. 2010). While
Castillo argues that the court ought to have given more weight to his positive conduct
while incarcerated, we presume the court considered such information, see United
States v. Grimes, 702 F.3d 460, 471 (8th Cir. 2012); and we discern no error in the
court’s decision to give more weight to the seriousness of the offense, see United
States v. Granados, 830 F.3d 840, 842-43 (8th Cir. 2016) (per curiam).
Accordingly, we affirm and grant counsel leave to withdraw.
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