USCA11 Case: 19-14381 Date Filed: 08/19/2021 Page: 1 of 28 [PUBLISH] IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT ________________________ No. 19-14381 ________________________ D.C. Docket No. 8:05-cr-00188-SDM-AEP-1 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus ANTONIO SOUL GONZALEZ, Defendant - Appellant. ________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida ________________________ (August 19, 2021) Before JORDAN, NEWSOM, and TJOFLAT, Circuit Judges. JORDAN, Circuit Judge: USCA11 Case: 19-14381 Date Filed: 08/19/2021 Page: 2 of 28 Antonio Gonzalez appeals the denial of his motion for a sentence reduction pursuant to § 404(b) of the First Step Act of 2018, Pub. L. No. 115-391, 132 Stat. 5194, 5222. His case presents a question of first impression for us—whether a sentence imposed upon the revocation of supervised release qualifies for a reduction under § 404(b) of the First Step Act when the underlying crime is a covered offense under the Act. We now join the Fourth and Sixth Circuits in holding that it does. We also conclude, however, that the district court in this case did not abuse its discretion in denying Mr. Gonzalez’s motion for a sentence reduction. I Pursuant to a plea agreement, Mr. Gonzalez pled guilty in 2005 to possessing 50 grams or more of cocaine base (i.e., crack cocaine) with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A)(iii). The district court sentenced him to 240 months in prison and 120 months of supervised release. In 2014, the district court reduced Mr. Gonzalez’s term of imprisonment to 151 months pursuant to the government’s substantial assistance motion. In 2015, the district court reduced Mr. Gonzalez’s term of imprisonment to 76 months under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). Mr. Gonzalez began his term of supervised release in 2015. When he tested positive for cocaine and marijuana, provided false information to probation, and failed to obtain employment, his probation officer filed a petition for revocation of 2 USCA11 Case: 19-14381 Date Filed: 08/19/2021 Page: 3 of 28 supervised release, and the district court issued a warrant for his arrest. The probation officer later filed a superseding petition adding new alleged criminal conduct: (1) possession of 500 grams or more of cocaine with intent to distribute; (2) possession of 28 grams or more of cocaine base; and (3) possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Mr. Gonzalez admitted to nine violations, and the district court revoked his supervised release and sentenced him to 57 months in prison, to be served consecutively to a separate sentence imposed for the new criminal conduct. In April of 2019, Mr. Gonzalez, proceeding pro se, sought to modify his 57- month sentence under § 404(b) of the First Step Act. He argued that his original narcotics conviction was now classified as a Class B felony instead of a Class A felony, and as a result his maximum prison term for a violation of supervised release was three years rather than five. The government opposed a …
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