United States v. Jones

Case: 25-60419 Document: 43-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/06/2026

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

____________ FILED March 6, 2026 No. 25-60419 Lyle W. Cayce Summary Calendar Clerk ____________ United States of America, Plaintiff—Appellee, versus Dexter Jones, Defendant—Appellant. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi USDC No. 2:17-CR-23-1 ______________________________ Before King, Haynes, and Ho, Circuit Judges.

Per Curiam: * Dexter Jones, federal prisoner # 20556-043, is serving a 300-month sentence following his conviction for possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of actual methamphetamine. He seeks to appeal the district court’s denial of a reduction in sentence pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) and its motion for reconsideration. Jones states that, following _____________________ * This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.

Case: 25-60419 Document: 43-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 03/06/2026

No. 25-60419 the subtraction of status points pursuant to Part A of Amendment 821 of the Sentencing Guidelines, his advisory guidelines range of life in prison would remain the same despite a decrease in his criminal history category from category III to category II. He argues, however, that the district court should have considered a further reduction of his 300-month sentence, which was imposed pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 35(b), in order to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities.

We review for abuse of discretion a district court’s denial of a sentence reduction pursuant to § 3582(c)(2) and denial of a motion for reconsideration. See United States v. Calton, 900 F.3d 706, 710 (5th Cir. 2018); United States v. Rabhan, 540 F.3d 344, 346-47 (5th Cir. 2008). To determine whether a defendant is eligible for a sentence reduction under § 3582(c)(2), a district court must first determine whether a reduction is permissible under U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10, p.s.; if the defendant is eligible, the court should then determine whether, and to what extent, to reduce the sentence in light of the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors. Dillon v. United States, 560 U.S. 817, 826-27 (2010). We may affirm the decision of the district court “on any grounds supported by the record.” United States v. McSween, 53 F.3d 684, 687 n.3 (5th Cir. 1995).

The record indicates that after the subtraction of status points, Jones had four criminal history points and was still a criminal history category of III. He thus was not eligible for a reduction in sentence. See Dillon, 560 U.S. at 826-27; U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10(b)(1), p.s. Accordingly, the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying relief pursuant to § 3582(c)(2) and in denying Jones’s motion for reconsideration. See Calton, 900 F.3d at 710; Rabhan, 540 F.3d at 346-47. The rulings of the district court are AFFIRMED.