Case 2:06-cr-20465-NGE-MKM ECF No. 3032, PageID.22552 Filed 11/03/20 Page 1 of 8

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN
SOUTHERN DIVISION
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff,

Case No. 06-20465

v.
Honorable Nancy G. Edmunds
D-18 LEONARD “DAD” MOORE,
Defendant.
/
ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT’S EMERGENCY
MOTION FOR COMPASSIONATE RELEASE [3021]
Pending before the Court is Defendant’s Motion for Compassionate Release. (ECF
No. 3021.) Defendant requests that pursuant to the First Step Act of 2018 and 18 U.S.C.
§ 3582(c)(1)(A)(I) the Court convert the remainder of his sentence to a term of supervised
release with a condition of home confinement. Defendant contends his age and medical
conditions constitute extraordinary and compelling circumstances justifying this relief in
the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The government opposes the requested relief and
has filed a response. (ECF No. 3025.) The Court has reviewed the record in its entirety
and finds that a hearing on this matter is not necessary. For the reasons set forth below,
the Court GRANTS Defendant’s motion.
I.

BACKGROUND

Following a nine-week jury trial, Defendant was convicted of RICO conspiracy in
violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1962(d) and 1963(a). The charges arose from his involvement
and leadership position in the Highwaymen Motor Club. The record in this case describes
in detail the significant, extensive, and violent criminal activity perpetrated at the hands of
the members HMC.
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Following Defendant’s conviction, the Court initially sentenced Defendant to a term
of life in prison. However, after a remand from the Sixth Circuit, Defendant was resentenced to a term of 20 years in prison. Defendant has served roughly fifty percent of
his sentence. He is currently incarcerated at FCI Loretto. His projected release date is
November 28, 2027.
Defendant is 73 years old. He suffers from a myriad of health conditions, including
COPD (chronic obstructive airway disease), type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, and high blood
pressure. He also claims that he was hospitalized in both 2018 and 2019 for pneumonia.
Defendant contends his age along with this combination of medical conditions places him
in the COVID-19 highest-risk category.
On March 31, 2020, Defendant made a request to the warden of FCI Loretto for
compassionate release due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On April 15, 2020, the warden
denied Defendant’s request. There does not appear to be any dispute that Defendant
exhausted his administrative remedies before seeking relief in this Court.
Defendant now moves for compassionate release in this Court. The motion has
been fully briefed and is ripe for consideration.
II.

ANALYSIS

As amended by the First Step Act, 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) authorizes courts to
modify terms of imprisonment as follows (emphasis added):
The court may not modify a term of imprisonment once it has been imposed
except that—in any case—the court, upon motion of the Director of the
Bureau of Prisons, or upon motion of the defendant after the defendant has
fully exhausted all administrative rights to appeal a failure of the Bureau of
Prisons to bring a motion on the defendant’s behalf or the lapse of 30 days
from the receipt of such a request by the warden of the defendant’s facility,
whichever is earlier, may reduce the term of imprisonment (and may impose
a term of probation or supervised release with or without conditions that
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does not exceed the unserved portion of the original term of imprisonment),
after considering the factors set forth in section 3553(a) to the extent that
they are applicable, if it finds that—
(i) extraordinary and compelling reasons warrant such a reduction ...
and that such a reduction is consistent with applicable policy
statements issued by the Sentencing Commission.
Thus in order to obtain relief under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i), a defendant must satisfy
the exhaustion requirement and demonstrate that “extraordinary and compelling reasons”
warrant a reduction of his sentence or compassionate release. In addition to this showing,
the Court must also consider the sentencing factors described in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) and
determine whether a sentence reduction would be “consistent with applicable policy
statements issued by the Sentencing Commission.” 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A).
In his motion, Defendant claims he has satisfied the exhaustion requirement and
that his age and medical conditions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic are
extraordinary and compelling circumstances warranting compassionate release under §
3582(c). The Government does not dispute that Defendant has exhausted the statutory
prerequisites for seeking compassionate release.

And the Government essentially

concedes that Defendant’s age and medical conditions in the wake of COVID-19
constitute extraordinary and compelling circumstances warranting his release. But the
Government argues that Defendant is not entitled to release under § 3582(c) because he
poses a continued danger to the community.

And the Government contends that

notwithstanding Defendant’s age, health conditions, and the threat of COVID-19,
consideration of the § 3553(a) factors supports denying the motion. Having considered
the record on this matter in its entirety, the Court disagrees with the Government’s position
under the facts and circumstances presented here.

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Although the sentence imposed on Defendant was just, the Court holds that the
threat posed by COVID-19, in light of Defendant’s advanced age and his underlying
health conditions, constitutes an extraordinary and compelling reason to modify his
sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(I). As stated by the Zukerman court, “[t]he
severity of [Defendant]’s conduct remains unchanged. What has changed, however, is
the environment where [Defendant] is serving his sentence. When the Court sentenced
[Defendant], the Court did not intend for that sentence to ‘include incurring a great and
unforeseen risk of severe illness or death’ brought on by a global pandemic.” United
States v. Zukerman, 451 F. Supp. 3d 329, 336 (S.D.N.Y. 2020) (citing United States v.
Rodriguez, 2020 WL 1627331, at *12 (E.D. Pa. Apr. 1, 2020)).
The United States Sentencing Commission has defined “extraordinary and
compelling reasons.” See U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13, comment n.1. There are extraordinary and
compelling reasons for modification where “[t]he defendant is ... suffering from a serious
physical or medical condition ... that substantially diminishes the ability to provide selfcare within the environment of a correctional facility and from which he or she is not
expected to recover.” U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13 comment n.1(A)(ii).
In this case, Defendant’s advanced age, together with his COPD, high blood
pressure, and diabetes, among other ailments, and the threat of COVID-19, satisfy that
requirement. According to the World Health Organization, the populations most at risk of
suffering severe health risks from COVID-19 are “older people, and those with underlying
medical problems like cardiovascular disease [and] cancer.” See United States v. Saad,
No. 16-20197, 2020 WL 2251808, at *6 (E.D. Mich. May 5, 2020) (discussing
Coronavirus, World Health Organization (Apr. 27, 2020), https://www.who.int/health-

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topics/coronavirus#tab=tab_1). And according to the United States Center for Disease
Control, persons over the age of 65 and individuals of any age who have serious
underlying medical conditions, including serious lung conditions like COPD, are at the
highest risk of suffering severe health risks from COVID-19. See People Who Are at
Higher Risk for Severe Illness, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (September
11, 2020), https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-precautions/peopleat-higher-risk.html.
Defendant is clearly among those persons most at risk. The Court agrees with the
Government that Defendant’s risk of exposure to COVID-19 is the same as any other
defendant housed at FCI Loretto. But it is the heightened risk of severe illness or death
faced by this particular Defendant if or when he inevitably comes in contact with the virus
that creates the extraordinary and compelling circumstances here. See United States v.
Pomante, No. 19-20316, 2020 WL 2513095, at *6 (E.D. Mich. May 15, 2020).
Courts within this district and elsewhere have held that compassionate release is
justified under similar conditions. See Saad, 2020 WL 2251808, at *6 (listing cases and
finding extraordinary and compelling reasons warranting compassionate release for
seventy one year old defendant with serious underlying health conditions including
chronic kidney disease, hypertension, and diabetes serving sentence for non-violent
conviction at FCI Milan); Pomante, 2020 WL 2513095, at *7 (finding extraordinary and
compelling reasons warranting compassionate release for sixty-nine-year-old defendant
with serious underlying pre-existing medical questions, including chronic kidney disease,
hypertension, obesity, and diabetes serving sentence for non-violent conviction at FCI
Morgantown); United States v. Al-Jumail, No. 12-20272, 2020 WL 2395224, at *1 (E.D.

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Mich. May 12, 2020) (finding extraordinary and compelling reasons warranting
compassionate release for sixty year old defendant with serious underlying health
conditions including coronary arterial disease, diabetes, and retinal disease serving
sentence for non-violent conviction at FCI Fort Dix); United States v. Reddy, No. 13-CR20358, 2020 WL 2320093, at *1 (E.D. Mich. May 11, 2020) (finding extraordinary and
compelling reasons warranting compassionate release for seventy three year old
defendant with serious underlying health conditions including diabetes, hypertension, and
various orthopedic and pain related problems serving sentence for non-violent
conviction).

Indeed, this Court has previously reached the same conclusion for a

defendant suffering from similar conditions. See United States v. Rahim, No. 16-20433,
2020 WL 2604857, at *1 (E.D. Mich. May 21, 2020) (finding extraordinary and compelling
circumstances warranting compassionate release for 67-year-old defendant suffering
from COPD, diabetes, and hypertension).
Finally, the Court finds that consideration of the factors set forth in § 3553(a)
weighs in favor of granting the requested relief. As noted extensively by the Court
throughout the record in this case, the nature and circumstances of Defendant’s crimes
are serious. And that one factor could conceivably weigh against granting compassionate
release. See § 3553(a)(1).

But the Court finds that releasing Defendant to home

confinement at this point and under these circumstances would be consistent with the
other § 3553(a) factors, and the Court concludes that those factors outweigh the
seriousness-of-offense factor.
Defendant’s most relevant personal characteristics are his age, health, and
vulnerability to COVID 19. This factor weighs in favor of release. Similarly, the statutory

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goal of imposing punishment would be satisfied by releasing Defendant to home
confinement now. Defendant has served meaningful time in prison and will continue to
bear additional restrictions on his liberty through home confinement.
The Court further finds that releasing Defendant under these unusual
circumstances—his poor health and the COVID-19 pandemic—will not undermine the
goal of general deterrence. Moreover, the Court finds that there is insufficient evidence
establishing that Defendant at the age of 73 and having been incarcerated for several
years poses a continued danger to the community or that releasing Defendant to home
confinement will subject the public to greater risk. Moreover, Defendant’s release will not
produce unwarranted sentencing disparity because it accounts for his unique
circumstances, specifically his age and medical conditions in consideration of the COVID19 pandemic. Thus granting the requested relief is consistent with and supported by the
§ 3553(a) factors.

III.

CONCLUSION

Accordingly, for the above stated reasons, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that
Defendant’s Emergency Motion for Compassionate Release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §
3582(c)(1)(A) is GRANTED. The custodial portion of Defendant’s sentence is reduced to
time served, and the Court imposes a new term of supervised release equal to the
unserved portion of the original term of imprisonment (as calculated by the BOP).
Following the completion of this newly imposed term of supervised release, Defendant
shall begin serving the three-year term of supervised release that the Court imposed in
Defendant’s Judgment.

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It is further ordered that unless Defendant has been in a segregated special unit
for high-risk prisoners for more than 14 days where no inmate has tested positive or
shown symptoms of COVID-19 within the past 14 days, the Court orders Defendant to
self-quarantine within his home when he begins home confinement. Defendant shall
serve the new term of supervised released under home confinement and shall not leave
his residence other than for medical appointments and appointments with counsel. While
on supervised released, Defendant shall be subject to electronic location monitoring to
commence as soon as the Probation Department can safely install the necessary
electronic monitoring equipment and upon such other considerations as the Probation
Department deems necessary. Defendant must contact the Probation Department within
twenty- four (24) hours of release from BOP custody to schedule an appointment.
Defendant’s original sentence remains unchanged in all other respects.
SO ORDERED.
s/Nancy G. Edmunds
Nancy G. Edmunds
United States District Judge

Dated: November 3, 2020
I hereby certify that a copy of the foregoing document was served upon counsel of record
on November 3, 2020, by electronic and/or ordinary mail.

s/Lisa Bartlett
Case Manager

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