United States v. Jason Belcher
United States v. Jason Belcher
Opinion
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 18-7070
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
JASON P. BELCHER, a/k/a Biz,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, at Huntington. Robert C. Chambers, District Judge. (3:09-cr-00158-3)
Submitted: January 31, 2019 Decided: February 11, 2019
Before NIEMEYER and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Jason P. Belcher, Appellant Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM:
Jason P. Belcher appeals the district court’s order granting his
18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) (2012) motion for a sentence reduction under Amendment 782 to the U.S.
Sentencing Guidelines Manual, USSG app. C, amend. 782 (effective Nov. 1, 2014). * On
appeal, Belcher claims that his amended advisory Guidelines range reflects an incorrect
criminal history category and that the district court should have used its authority to
further reduce the quantity of drugs attributed to Belcher.
We review for abuse of discretion a district court’s decision whether to reduce a
sentence under § 3582(c)(2) and review de novo a district court’s conclusion regarding
the scope of its legal authority under § 3582(c)(2). United States v. Muldrow,
844 F.3d 434, 437(4th Cir. 2016). Upon review of the record, we conclude that the district court
properly determined Belcher’s applicable amended Guidelines range “pursuant to
§ 1B1.1(a) . . . before consideration of any departure provision in the Guidelines Manual
or any variance.” Id. at 439 (quoting USSG § 1B1.10, p.s., cmt. n.1(A) (2011)). Further,
the district court did not abuse its considerable discretion in electing to reduce the
sentence to 188 months’ imprisonment.
Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s judgment. We dispense with oral
argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the
materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
* The district court reduced Belcher’s sentence, but Belcher seeks further reduction.
2
Reference
- Status
- Unpublished