Case: 20-51008 Document: 00515905863 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/18/2021
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
No. 20-51008 June 18, 2021
Summary Calendar Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
United States of America,
Plaintiff—Appellee,
versus
Mario Gonzalez,
Defendant—Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
USDC No. 1:14-CR-292-4
Before Wiener, Southwick, and Duncan, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam:*
Mario Gonzalez, federal prisoner # 61423-018, is serving a 235-month
sentence for trafficking in cocaine. He now appeals the district court’s denial
of his motion for reduction of sentence (commonly known as a motion for
compassionate release) under the First Step Act, contending that his kidney
*
Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this
opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited
circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4.
Case: 20-51008 Document: 00515905863 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/18/2021
No. 20-51008
disease and history of COVID-19 infection constitute extraordinary and
compelling reasons for release. See 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A).
We need not decide whether those factors constitute extraordinary
and compelling reasons for compassionate release because the district court
did not abuse its discretion by denying relief based on Gonzalez’s history and
characteristics, including his criminal conduct involving large-scale drug
trafficking, the amount of his 235-month sentence remaining to be served,
and the need to protect the public from further crimes. See United States v.
Chambliss, 948 F.3d 691, 692-93 (5th Cir. 2020); 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).
The district court’s order is AFFIRMED. Gonzalez’s motion for
compassionate release, characterized as a motion for extraordinary relief, is
DENIED.
2
United States v. Gonzalez
Combined Opinion