USA v. Mathias et al

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA
Katharine T. Buzicky, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, 300 South
Fourth Street, Suite 600, Minneapolis, MN 55415, for Plaintiff.
Ronald 	Ollo 	Coleman, 	Register 	No. 	15713-509, 	FCI 	Atlanta, 	Federal
Correctional Institution, P.O. Box 150160, Atlanta, GA 30315, pro se
Defendant.
Defendant Ronald Coleman is serving 42-month sentence in custody of the Bureau
of Prisons after he pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Coleman
moves for compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i). Because the Court
finds that Coleman has not presented extraordinary and compelling reasons to justify
compassionate release, the Court will deny the motion.
BACKGROUND
In 2020, Coleman was charged in a ten-count indictment with conspiracy to
commit mail fraud and wire fraud. (Indictment, Oct. 10, 2020, Docket No. 1.) Later that
year, Coleman pled guilty one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, in violation of 18
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff,
v.
RONALD OLLO COLEMAN,
Defendant.
Criminal No. 20-231(7) (JRT/DTS)
MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER
DENYING DEFENDANT’S MOTION FOR
COMPASSIONATE RELEASE
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U.S.C. § 1341, 1349, and 2326. (Plea Agreement, Dec. 16, 2020, Docket No. 100.) He was
sentenced to a 42-month term of imprisonment, to be followed by a 2-year term of
supervised release. (Sentencing J., Dec. 16, 2024, Docket No. 393.)
Coleman now moves for compassionate release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A).
Coleman argues he is the only available caregiver for his 91-year-old mother. (Mot. for
Compassionate Release at 1, June 12, 2025, Docket No. 407.) 	He asserts that she is
“completely incapacitated from her ‘acute ischemic right PCA stroke,’ incontinence, and
‘Parenchyma: Multifocal acute embolic infarcts with in the right occipital lobe, right
thalamus, and right interior medical temporal lope.’” 	(Id.) 	In addition to being
incontinent, she is immobile and needs constant care. (Id.) Coleman states that his “other
brothers and sisters are deceased” and that he is the only person that is “able to lift her,
carry her to the bathroom, turn her body regularly to avoid bed sores, and provide
nutrition, and medicines, and take her to doctor’s appointments. . . . give her sponge
baths, and maintain her life. (Id. at 2.)
DISCUSSION
I. 	STANDARD OF REVIEW
Once a defendant has exhausted administrative remedies,1 the Court may modify
a sentence after it considers the sentencing factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) if it
finds that “extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction” and that
1 The Court concludes that Coleman has satisfied the exhaustion requirement in this case.
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“such a reduction is consistent with the applicable policy statements issued by the
Sentencing Commission.” 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). One situation in which extraordinary
and compelling reasons for release exists is when the defendant’s parent is incapacitated
and “the defendant would be the only available caregiver for the parent.” 	U.S.S.G.
§ 1B1.13(b)(3)(C). 	The defendant bears the burden of showing that compassionate
release is appropriate. 	United States v. Avalos Banderas, 39 F.4th 1059, 1062 (8 th Cir.
2022).
II. 	ANALYSIS
Coleman 	argues 	that 	compassionate 	release 	is 	appropriate 	because 	he 	is
purportedly the sole available caregiver for his 91-year-old mother, who requires
constant care due to her health conditions. 	After careful consideration of the record
before 	the 	Court, 	the 	Court 	concludes 	that 	Coleman 	has 	failed 	to 	show 	that
compassionate release is warranted because he has failed to show that he is sole available
caregiver.
In 2021, the U.S. Probation and Pretrial Service’s Office prepared a Presentence
Investigation Report (“PSR”) ahead of sentencing. (See Presentence Investigation Report,
August 18, 2021, Docket No. 181.) The PSR states that Pamela McCall, Coleman’s sister,
lived in Atlanta and “care[d] for their mother.” (PSR ¶ 91.) It also includes Coleman’s own
written statement from February 11, 2021, acknowledging that he has “an 88 year old
mother who is in poor health fully dependent on my support living at home with my
sister.” (PSR ¶ 61 (emphasis added).)
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Now, Coleman appears to suggest that circumstances have changed and that only
he can care for his mother. 	To support this shift, he offers a declaration from Pamela
McCall stating that she is “unable to care” for their mother and that “Coleman is the sole
available caregiver.” (Decl. of Pamela M. McCall (“McCall Decl.”), June 12, 2025, Docket
No. 408.)
However, 	Coleman 	provides 	no 	meaningful 	explanation, 	specific 	facts, 	or
documentation demonstrating why Pamela McCall—who was previously identified as a
caregiver—can no longer fulfill that role. The Court is left with only conclusory statements
that contradict statements contained in the PSR. 	Without evidence sufficient to show
that Coleman is the only caregiver for his incapacitated mother, the Court finds that
compassionate release is not warranted. (See McCall Decl.)
Accordingly, Coleman has not demonstrated that his family circumstances pose an
extraordinary and compelling reason for compassionate release.
CONCLUSION
Because Coleman has failed to show extraordinary and compelling reason to justify
compassionate release, the Court will deny the motion. 	The Court need not consider
whether the compassionate release of Coleman would be consistent with the section
3553(a) sentencing factors or whether Coleman presents a danger to any individual or the
community.
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ORDER
Based on the foregoing, and all the files, records, and proceedings herein, IT IS
HEREBY ORDERED that Coleman’s Pro Se Motion for Compassionate Release (Docket No.
[407]) is DENIED.
DATED: May 6, 2026 	_____/s/ John R. Tunheim ____
at Minneapolis, Minnesota. 	JOHN R. TUNHEIM
United States District Judge
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