USA v. Jones

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 	)
)
Plaintiff, 	)
)
v. 	) 	Case No. 4:21 CR 261 CDP
)
DE’ALIZ’E JONES, 	)
)
Defendant. 	)
MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This case is before me on defendant De’Aliz’e Jones’s pro se motion for
compassionate release and sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c).1 For the
following reasons, I will deny the motion.
On May 3, 2022, Jones pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in
possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(e)(1), 924(a)(2). With a
total offense level of 23 and criminal history category of IV, the advisory
Guidelines sentencing range for Jones’s offense was 70-87 months’ imprisonment.
On August 2, 2022, upon the joint recommendation of the parties, I sentenced
Jones to 60 months’ imprisonment. In his motion for compassionate release, Jones
1 After Jones filed his motion, the Office of the Federal Public Defender notified the Court that it
would not be filing any additional pleadings on Jones’s behalf.
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asks that I reduce that sentence because of his youthful age and circumstances
when he committed the prior offenses that contributed to his criminal history score.
A court can reduce a final sentence only under the very limited
circumstances listed in 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c). Under § 3582(c)(1)(A),
compassionate release may be granted if the court finds, “after considering the
factors set forth in section 3553(a) to the extent they are applicable,” that
“extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction.” 18 U.S.C. §
3582(c)(1)(A)(i). No such extraordinary and compelling reasons exist here.
In seeking compassionate release, Jones relies on the portion of Amendment
814 to the Sentencing Guidelines that now expressly permits a court to consider
nonretroactive changes in the law (including a Guidelines amendment) for
determining the extent of a sentence reduction when a defendant “otherwise
establishes that extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant” a reduced sentence.
U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(c) (emphasis added). The change in law that Jones asks me to
consider is Guidelines Amendment 829 (effective Nov. 1, 2024), which amended
U.S.S.G. § 5H1.1 to permit a court to consider, among other things, a defendant’s
youthfulness at the time of the offense, childhood experiences, and familial and
environmental circumstances as reasons for a downward departure in sentencing.
Jones argues that consideration of those factors warrants a sentence reduction in
his case given his unstable family life and dysfunctional neighborhood that
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exposed him to drugs and gang violence as a youth.
There are a couple of problems with Jones’s argument. First, for me to
consider nonretroactive changes in the law in Jones’s circumstances, Jones must
first establish extraordinary and compelling reasons that warrant a sentence
reduction. U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(c).2 Only then may I consider a change in the law
and only for purposes of determining the extent of any reduction. A change in the
law does not itself constitute an extraordinary and compelling reason. Id., amend.
814, comment. (reason for amendment) (Nov. 1, 2023); see also United States v.
Johnson, No. 24-2393, 2025 WL 1949738, at *2 (8th Cir. July 16, 2025). Other
than citing Amendment 829 factors relating to his youth, Jones does not cite any
independent extraordinary and compelling reason for a reduced sentence. On that
basis alone, Jones’s motion for compassionate release must be denied.
Jones’s other problem is his reliance on Amendment 829 as the
nonretroactive law that he asserts provides him relief. As set out above,
Amendment 829 amended U.S.S.G. § 5H1.1, which addressed age as a certain
specific offender characteristic to take into account in determining whether a
departure was warranted in sentencing. The Sentencing Commission recently
amended the Guidelines, however, to remove departures and policy statements
2 Changes in the law may also be considered in limited circumstances set out in § 1B1.13(b)(6)
(unusually long sentence). None of those circumstances exist here.
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relating to specific personal characteristics. Through Amendment 836, effective
November 1, 2025, Part H of Chapter 5 was stricken in its entirety from the
Guidelines, thereby removing the basis of Jones’s argument. Consequently, to the
extent Jones argues that consideration of his youthfulness as a sentencing factor
under § 5H1.1 warrants compassionate release, his motion must be denied.
Regardless, when I sentenced Jones to 60 months as the parties jointly
recommended in conjunction with his guilty plea – which was a downward
variance from the advisory Guidelines range of 70-87 months – I considered the
factors that Jones now asks me to consider for compassionate release, namely the
circumstances of his offenses and personal characteristics such as his youthfulness,
childhood experiences, family stability, and neighborhood environment. Jones has
not presented anything in addition to what I already considered to warrant further
departure from his already reduced sentence.
When I consider all the sentencing factors under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), I
conclude that Jones’s 60-month sentence remains appropriate, reflects the
seriousness of the crime, promotes respect for the law, and provides just
punishment for the offense. His motion for compassionate release and sentence
reduction is therefore denied.
Accordingly,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that defendant De’Aliz’e Jones’s motion for
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compassionate release and sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c) [45] is
DENIED.
_________________________________
CATHERINE D. PERRY
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Dated this 9th day of February, 2026.
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