UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 20-7621
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
NEDRICK LAMONT JOHNSON, a/k/a Rick, a/k/a Ricky,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at
Alexandria. Anthony John Trenga, Senior District Judge. (1:19-cr-00137-AJT-1)
Submitted: September 3, 2021 Decided: September 20, 2021
Before MOTZ, KING, and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges.
Vacated and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion. Judge Quattlebaum dissents.
Nedrick Lamont Johnson, Appellant Pro Se.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Nedrick Lamont Johnson appeals the district court’s order denying his motion for
compassionate release. Finding that the district court relied on erroneous factual
premises, we vacate and remand for a more thorough consideration of the 18 U.S.C. §
3553(a) sentencing factors.
The district court held that Johnson failed to demonstrate “extraordinary and
compelling reasons” warranting release under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i), including
because it could not conclude Johnson is “significantly more at risk” of suffering severe
illness from COVID-19 than “any other inmate within [his] prison facility.” United States
v. Johnson, No. 1:19-cr-00137-AJT-1, at 3 (E.D. Va. Oct. 14, 2020). Although the court
found that Johnson suffers from epilepsy and obesity, it stated that Johnson had not shown
that either condition put him at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19, citing to
information published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
(“CDC”). See id. at 3 & n.2 (citing People with Certain Medical Conditions, Ctrs. for
Disease Control & Prevention, https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extra-
precautions/people-with-medical-conditions.html).
When a district court denies a motion for compassionate release, we will find the
court abused its discretion if it “reli[ed] on erroneous factual or legal premises.” United
States v. High, 997 F.3d 181, 187 (4th Cir. 2021) (alteration in original) (quoting United
States v. Dillard, 891 F.3d 151, 158 (4th Cir. 2018)). Here, the court relied on erroneous
factual premises in claiming that the CDC source did not show that Johnson’s conditions
put him at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. First, the source lists
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“neurological conditions” as putting one at increased risk, and epilepsy is a neurological
condition. See People with Certain Medical Conditions, supra; see also Improving
Epilepsy Education, Systems of Care, and Health Outcomes Through National and
Community Partnerships (RFA-DP-21-01), Ctrs. for Disease Control & Prevention,
https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/about/foa/epilepsy/index.htm (describing epilepsy as
a “neurological condition”). Second, the source states that being either overweight or
obese “can make you more likely to get severely ill from COVID-19.” See People with
Certain Medical Conditions, supra.
Accordingly, we vacate and remand for a more thorough analysis of the § 3553(a)
sentencing factors. 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.
VACATED AND REMANDED
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