United States of America v. Jeffery Turner

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 24-1097
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United States of America
Plaintiff - Appellee
v.
Jeffery Turner
Defendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Northern District of Iowa - Eastern
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Submitted: December 16, 2024
Filed: March 6, 2025
[Unpublished]
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Before SMITH, GRUENDER, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Jeffery Turner received a 360-month prison sentence after being convicted of
various drug crimes. See 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A), (b)(1)(B), 846. He
argues the district court1 abused its discretion when it denied a downward variance.
1 The Honorable C.J. Williams, then District Judge, now Chief Judge, United
States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.

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-2-
We conclude otherwise. See United States v. Angeles-Moctezuma, 927 F.3d
1033, 1037 (8th Cir. 2019) (reviewing for an abuse of discretion). The district court
sufficiently considered the statutory sentencing factors, 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), and
“made an individualized assessment based on the facts presented.” United States v.
Becerra, 958 F.3d 725, 731 (8th Cir. 2020) (citation omitted). Among the reasons
for denying a variance were the “very large quantities” of methamphetamine Turner
distributed and the damage it caused to the community. The court also reviewed
several mitigating factors, including his drug addiction and mental-health
difficulties, but noted that neither explained why he dealt in such large quantities of
drugs. A mere disagreement with the weight given to these factors, absent
something more, is no reason to reverse. United States v. Bell-Washington, 125
F.4th 870, 873 (8th Cir. 2025) (per curiam) (requiring a “clear error of judgment”
(citation omitted)). We accordingly affirm the judgment of the district court.
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