Luis Lopez v. Michael Underwood, Warden, FCI Loretto, et al.

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA LUIS LOPEZ, ) ) Petitioner, ) ) v. ) Civil Action No. 3:25-247 ) Judge Nora Barry Fischer MICHAEL UNDERWOOD, WARDEN, FCI ) Magistrate Judge Keith Pesto LORETTO, et al., ) ) Respondents. ) MEMORANDUM ORDER AND NOW, this 28th day of January, 2026, upon consideration of the Report and Recommendation filed by United States Magistrate Judge Keith A. Pesto on October 28, 2025, (Docket No. 10), recommending that the § 2241 habeas petition filed by Petitioner Luis Lopez against Warden Underwood at FCI Loretto et al. be dismissed without prejudice for failure to exhaust administrative remedies as to his claims that he was not awarded earned time credits due to a final order of removal, and directed that objections were due within 14 days such that objections by non-ECF users were due by November 14, 2025, no objections having been filed as of the date of this Order, but Petitioner having filed a Supplement, (Docket No. 11), including a detainer from the Department of Homeland Security which does not indicate that a final order of removal is a basis for the detainer, this matter having been recently reassigned to the undersigned for prompt disposition, and upon independent review of the record and de novo consideration of the Magistrate Judge’s Report and Recommendation, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that the October 28, 2025 Report and Recommendation (Docket No. 10) is ADOPTED as the opinion of this Court; IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Petition (Docket No. 6) is DISMISSED, without prejudice, for failure to exhaust administrative remedies, see e.g., Saavedra-Ramirez v. Peters, No. 3:23-CV-268-KAP, 2024 WL 2136679, at *2 (W.D. Pa. Mar. 12, 2024), report and recommendation adopted, No. CV 3:23-268, 2024 WL 1550379 (W.D. Pa. Apr. 10, 2024), appeal dismissed sub nom. Saavedra-Ramirez v. Dir. Fed. Bureau of Prisons, No. 24-1738, 2024 WL 4677955 (3d Cir. July 18, 2024) (District Court upholding dismissal for failure to exhaust when the habeas petition was filed prior to the exhaustion of administrative remedies and appeal dismissed), as Petitioner admits in his Petition that he has not fully exhausted the administrative appeals process, (see Docket No. 6). The Court further notes that Petitioner complains that the FSA Time Credit Assessment dated April 2, 2025 does not include earned time credits under the First Step Act and lists a projected release date of August 26, 2027 which he believes is erroneous yet the BOP Inmate Locator currently reports that Petitioner’s projected release date is August 26, 2026 which is consistent with the FSA Time Credit Assessment dated February 9, 2025 that he favored. (Compare Docket No. 6-4 with Docket No. 6-5). In light of the Supplement filed by Petitioner, (Docket No. 11), it is unclear to the Court if the BOP has adjusted its computation of Petitioner’s sentence at this time or not and whether a dispute as to his sentencing computation remains, all of which further underscores the need for Petitioner’s claims to be fully exhausted with the agency prior to bringing his claims in a § 2241 Petition; and, IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that no certificate of appealability shall issue, see Goodloe v. Warden Lewisburg USP, 2025 WL 342189, *1, n.1 (3d Cir. 2025) (citing Reese v. Warden Phila.

FDC, 904 F.3d 244, 246 (3d Cir. 2018) (“a federal prisoner challenging the denial of a § 2241 petition […] need not obtain a certificate of appealability”); and, IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that an appropriate Judgment follows.

s/Nora Barry Fischer Nora Barry Fischer Senior U.S. District Judge cc/ecf: Magistrate Judge Keith A. Pesto cc: Luis Lopez, Reg. No. 40158-509 F.C.I. Loretto P.O. Box 1000 Cresson, PA 16630 (via first class mail)