USA v. Hoover et al

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF ALASKA
United States v. Terrick Louis Hoover
Case No. 3:08-cr-00123-TMB-2
By: 	THE HONORABLE TIMOTHY M. BURGESS
PROCEEDINGS: 	ORDER FROM CHAMBERS
The matter comes before the Court on Defendant Terrick Louis Hoover’s Motion to Reduce
Sentence Pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) (the “Motion”).1 Hoover requests that his
sentence on revocation of supervised release be reduced to time-served and that he be released to
home confinement as a condition of supervised release.2 The United States filed a Response
Opposing the Motion (“Opposition”).3 The Motion is now ripe for resolution. For the reasons
discussed below, the Motion is DENIED.
On August 29, 2009, Hoover pleaded guilty to charges of drug trafficking conspiracy and being a
felon in possession of a firearm.4 He was sentenced to 90 months of imprisonment and five years
of supervised release.5 Hoover was released from custody and placed on federal supervision in
May 2015.6 However, shortly thereafter, Hoover was arrested and convicted of state criminal
offenses, so his federal supervised release was revoked.7 Hoover was sentenced to another 21
months in federal custody, consecutive to his sentence in the state case.8 Hoover completed his
state custodial sentence on March 11, 2020.9 He has approximately four months of time credit
toward his federal revocation sentence.10
In the Motion, Hoover explains that he has been in constructive federal custody since
March 11, 2020, but he has not been transported to a Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”) facility due to the
coronavirus 	pandemic 	(“COVID-19”).11 In 	the 	meantime, 	Hoover 	remains 	at 	Anchorage
1 Dkt. 315 (Motion).
2 Id. at 1.
3 Dkt. 320 (Opposition).
4 Dkts. 133 (Minute Entry); see 2 (Indictment).
5 Id.
6 See Dkt. 315 at 3.
7 Dkt. 302 (Judgment on Revocation).
8 Id. at 2.
9 Dkt. 315-6 at 3 (Time Accounting Record).
10 Dkt. 315-8 at 3 (Inmate Data).
11 Dkt. 315 at 7.
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Correctional Complex and has not received formal BOP classification or designation.12 BOP
calculates Hoover’s release date to be May 27, 2021.13
Hoover argues that he should be considered for a time-served sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C.
§ 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) because COVID-19 presents “extraordinary and compelling reasons” for
compassionate release.14 The Government opposes Hoover’s release because he has not identified
any medical conditions that would exacerbate his risks of COVID-19 in order to compel his
release.15
The First Step Act amended 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) to allow a defendant to move the district
court for a sentence reduction after exhausting their administrative remedies.16 After considering
the applicable factors set forth in § 3553(a), a court may grant the motion if it finds “extraordinary
and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction; . . . and that such a reduction is consistent with
applicable policy statements issued by the Sentencing Commission.”17 The policy statement of the
Sentencing Commission related to compassionate release is found at U.S.S.G. §1B1.13. The policy
statement provides that “extraordinary and compelling reasons” may exist where “[t]he defendant
is . . . suffering from a serious physical or medical condition . . . that substantially diminishes the
ability of the defendant to provide self-care within the environment of a correctional facility and
from which he or she is not expected to recover.”18 Furthermore, U.S.S.G. §1B1.13 provides that
a court may only grant relief if it determines “the defendant is not a danger to the safety of any
other person or to the community.”
As 	a 	threshold 	matter, 	Hoover 	has 	not 	exhausted 	his 	administrative 	remedies. 	Hoover
acknowledges that §3582(c)(1)(A) imposes an exhaustion requirement but argues that he should
be excused from it: “Because he is housed in a non-BOP facility Mr. Hoover has no means of
seeking compassionate release through the Bureau of Prisons. He therefore cannot comply with
the exhaustion requirement.”19 The Government concedes this point.20 However, courts in this
Circuit have required defendants in non-BOP facilities to at least notify BOP in an attempt to
pursue administrative remedies before the court can determine that exhaustion is futile.21 This
Court has held that it is “without authority to consider the merits of claims for compassionate
release until a defendant has exhausted all available administrative rights to appeal.”22 Here,
12 Id.
13 Id.
14 Id. at 9‒20.
15 Dkt. 320 at 12.
16 See Pub. L. 115-391, 132 Stat. 5194, 5239 (2018).
17 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1).
18 U.S.S.G. §1B1.13
19 Dkt. 315 at 6‒8.
20 Dkt. 320 at 10.
21 United States v. Gonzalez, No. 2:18-CR-0232-TOR-15, 2020 WL 1536155, at *1 (E.D. Wash
Mar. 31, 2020); United States v. Dailey, No. 2:13-cr-00118 KJM, 2020 WL 2195926, at *3 (E.D.
Cal. May 6, 2020).
22 United States v. Strain, No. 3:97-cr-00004-TMB, 2020 WL 1977114, at *2 (D. Ak. Apr. 24,
2020).
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Hoover does not claim that he has even attempted to contact BOP regarding his possible release
options. Therefore, he has not exhausted his administrative remedies and the Motion must be
denied.
Notwithstanding the lack of exhaustion, Hoover’s Motion is based solely on the risks of COVID-
19 and it does not present “extraordinary and compelling reasons” that conform with the U.S.S.G.
policy statements. Hoover does not allege he is currently suffering from a medical condition and
this Court has previously held that the generalized risks of COVID-19 do not independently justify
compassionate release.23 Because Hoover does not appear to be eligible for compassionate release
under § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i), the Court does not reach the § 3553(a) factors or whether Hoover would
be a danger to community upon release.
Accordingly, the Motion at Docket 315 is DENIED without prejudice.
Entered at the direction of the Honorable Timothy M. Burgess, United States District Judge.
DATE: May 13, 2020
23 United States v. Numann, No. 3:16-cr-00025-TMB, 2020 WL 1977117, at *3 (D. Ak. Apr. 24,
2020).
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