USA v. Pacheco

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF SOUTH DAKOTA
DIVISION
UNITED STATES
Plaintiff,
vs.
RENAE JO PACHECO
Defendant.
3:20-CR-30085-RAL-1
OPINION AND ORDER DENYING
DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO REDUCE
SENTENCE
Defendant Renae Jo Pacheco pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance.
Doc. 49 at 1; Doc. 51. On August 2, 2021, this Court sentenced her to 48 months custody and
three years of supervised release. Doc. 48; Doc. 51. Pacheco is currently incarcerated in the
Carswell Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas. Doc. 51; Doc. 52.
On April 11, 2022, Pacheco filed a pro se motion to reduce sentence/obtain credit for time
served. Doc. 51. She believes that one year should be credited to her for time served in Rosebud
Sioux tribal jail for the same conduct underlying her federal conviction. Doc. 51. Once she
receives credit for time served, Pacheco states that she will have served approximately half of her
sentence and may be eligible for compassionate release. See Doc. 51. On June 7, 2022, Pacheco
filed another letter with the Court stating that she has not received her sentencing papers and has
not yet received credit for time served in tribal jail. Doc. 52.
"[18 U.S.C. §] 3585(b) permits a defendant to receive credit toward a federal sentence for
any time spent in official detention, prior to the date the federal sentence commences, if the
1
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detention was a 'result of any other charge for which the defendant was arrested after the
commission of the offense for which the sentence was imposed.'" United States v. Tindall, 455
F.3d 885, 888 (8th Cir. 2006) (quoting 18 U.S.C. §3583(b)(2)). 18 U.S.C. § 3585(b) does not
contemplate that a district court will calculate credit for time served. United States v. Wilson, 503
U.S. 329, 333 (1992). Rather, that calculation is left to the Attorney General to compute with the
assistance of the Bureau of Prisons ("BOP"). Tindall, 455 F.3d at 888; Wilson, 503 U.S. at 334;
United States v. Pardue, 363 F.3d 695, 699 (8th Cir. 2004). Thus, Pacheco's claim concerning
time served "is properly left to the Bureau of Prisons" and "should first be presented to [it.]"
Pardue, 363 F.3d at 699.
Only "[o]nce administrative remedies are exhausted," Pacheco may "seek judicial review
of any jail-time credit determination[] by filing a habeas petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2241." Id.
Additionally, "a prisoner must file a motion concerning administration or calculation of
sentences in either the district of confinement or the regional BOP office." United States v.
Frosch, 496 F. Supp. 2d 1018,1020 CS.D. Iowa2007); see also Belly. United States, 48 F.3d 1042,
1043 (8th Cir. 1995); Mathenv v. Morrison, 307 F,3d 709, 711 (8th Cir. 2002). Pacheco is
incarcerated at Carswell Federal Medical Center in Fort Worth, Texas, so Pacheco should file any
habeas motion concerning calculation of her sentence in the district where Carswell Federal
Medical Center is located and not in the District of South Dakota.
Pacheco has not alleged or made a showing that she has exhausted administrative remedies
with the BOP concerning computation of time served. Doc. 51; Doc. 52. Therefore, her claim
would not be ripe for any federal court's review, and it is hereby
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ORDERED that Pacheco's motion to reduce sentence/obtain credit for time served. Doc.
51, is denied without prejudice to refiling in the appropriate federal district court once she has
exhausted administrative remedies.
DATED this /^Aday of June, 2022.
BY THE COURT:
C^</24»^>
ROBERTO A. LANGE
CHIEF JUDGE
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