USA v. Lytle et al

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF SOUTH DAKOTA
WESTERN DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 5:17-CR-50020-RAL
Plaintiff,
vs.
ROBERT LARRY LYTLE,
OPINION AND ORDER DENYING THIRD
MOTION FOR COMPASSIONATE
RELEASE AND DEFENDANT'S OTHER
PENDING MOTIONS
Defendant.
Defendant Robert Larry Lytle is currently serving a 144-month sentence for conspiracy to
introduce misbranded medical devices into interstate commerce and criminal contempt. Lytle was
sentenced by the undersigned on April 20,2018, and is currently incarcerated at a federal medical
facility in Lexington, Kentucky. Lytle has filed another motion for compassionate release under
the First Step Act, Doc. 510, and a motion seeking to have the time he wore an ankle monitor in
advance of his conviction credited to his sentence, Doc. 513. Those motions are denied.
I. Motion for Compassionate Release
Lytle has filed his third motion for compassionate release, Doc. 510, and asked this Court
to expedite review of that motion. Doc. 516. The Government opposes the motion. Doc. 512.
This Court denied Lytle's first motion for compassionate release in August 2020. Doc. 456. In
that ruling, this Court acknowledged and indeed discussed at length Lytle's poor health and
increased risk of developing a severe illness were he to contract COVID-19. Id. at 14. Despite
Lytle's poor health, this Court concluded he was not entitled to compassionate release for a whole
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host of reasons; for example, Lytle had only served a small fraction of his sentence and remained
at a high risk of reoffending were he to be released. Id at 15. Lytle renewed his motion for
compassionate release just a few months later in December 2020, which this Court denied shortly
thereafter because Lytle had not presented any additional evidence to justify a different outcome.
Doc. 461.
Only a few things have changed since this Court denied Lytle's last request for
compassionate release and none weigh in favor of granting his most recent motion. Lytle has
completed almost three more years of his sentence, but he still has only served 38.3% of his full
term and 45% of his statutory term. Doc. 511 at 1321. According to Lytle, who is now 87 years
old, his health has further deteriorated, but he has received at least three doses of the COVID-19
vaccination^ and has contracted and recovered from COVID-19 apparently twice.^ In his latest
filing, Lytle reports being scheduled for an upcoming heart procedure at the University of
Kentucky Medical Center, Doc. 516, which indicates that Lytle is receiving proper health care.
This Court's conclusion that the sentence Lytle received was sufficient but not greater than
necessary to achieve the sentencing purposes identified in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) has not changed,
and none of the new circumstances Lytle relies on in his most recent motion are extraordinary or
compelling reasons warranting his release at this time. Accordingly, Lytle's expedited motion for
compassionate release. Does. 510, 516,is denied.^ At least so far as this Court is aware, Lytle has
^ Lytle received doses of the COVID-19 vaccine in February, March, and December 2021. Doc.
511 at 549.
^ According to his medical records, Lytle had a confirmed case of COVID-19 in January 2021,
Doc. 511 at 1116, and in a previous filing with this Court, Doc. 501, Lytle indicated he also had
COVID-19 sometime around June 2022.
^ In his motion. Defendant also requests that this Court appoint counsel to represent him, but that
request is denied for the same reasons this Court denied that request in the September 30, 2022,
Order Denying Motion to Appoint Counsel, Doc. 505.
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remained unrepentant for his criminal activity. If this Court was provided with sufficient
assurances that Lytle poses no future threat of defrauding the public, this Court may be open to
reconsidering this ruling once Lytle has served at least half of his sentence.
II. Motion for Time Credit.
Lytle's motion seeking to have the time he wore an ankle monitor in advance of his
conviction credited to his sentence, Doc. 513, is also denied. 18 U.S.C. § 3585 provides:
A defendant shall be given credit toward the service of a term ofimprisonment for
any time he has spent in official detention prior to the date the sentence commences-
(1)as a result ofthe offense for which the sentence was imposed; or
(2)as a result ofany other charge for which the defendant was arrested after
the commission ofthe offense for which the sentence was imposed;
that has not been credited against another sentence.
(emphasis added). Lytle's time wearing an ankle monitor while on pre-trial release is not
considered "official detention" for purposes of sentencing credit. Cf Moreland v. United States.
968 F.2d 655 (8th Cir. 1992)(holding a presentence defendant released to a halfway house is not
in detention for the purposes of sentencing credit); United States v. Wickman. 955 F.2d 592, 593
(8th Cir. 1992)(holding that time defendant spent on pre-trial house arrest not considered detention
for the purposes ofsentencing credit). Lytle is therefore not entitled to credit for the time he spent
wearing an ankle monitor.
III. Conclusion
For the reasons stated above, it is
ORDERED that Defendant's Motion for Compassionate Release, Docs. 510 and 516, is
denied. It is finally
ORDERED that Defendant's Motion for Ankle Monitoring Credit, Doc. 513, is denied.
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DATED this 7th day of March, 2023.
BY THE COURT:
ROBERTO A. LANGE
CHIEF JUDGE
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