United States v. Bell, No. 12-6495 (6th Cir. 2013)
Annotate this CaseIn 2003, Bell pled guilty to possession with intent to distribute 50 or more grams of crack cocaine, 21 U.S.C. 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(A)(iii), possession of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, 18 U.S.C. 924(c)(1)(A), and possession of marijuana, 21 U.S.C. 844. He agreed to 124.7 grams of crack. With a three-point acceptance of responsibility reduction, his offense level was 29. His criminal history category, II, produced a Guidelines range of 97 to 121 months, but the quantity had a mandatory minimum sentence of 120 months. The district court sentenced Bell to concurrent terms of120 months for the crack conviction and 12 months for the marijuana conviction with a consecutive 60 months for the 924(c) conviction In 2009, the district court denied a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. 3582(c)(2). The Sixth Circuit affirmed. In 2010, the Fair Sentencing Act lowered the penalties for crack offenses and directed the Sentencing Commission to amend the Guidelines. The amendment was made retroactive. A recalculation assigned Bell a new offense level of 25, producing a new Guidelines range on the crack charge of 63 to 78 months. The district court denied a sentence reduction because his sentencing range, based on the mandatory minimum, had not changed. The Sixth Circuit affirmed. Bell’s sentence was not based on a range that was subsequently lowered.
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