UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA

CASE NO. 22-14054-CR-CANNON/MAYNARD

 22-14048-CR-CANNON/MAYNARD

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

v.

DUSTIN SINGLETON,

Defendant.

___________________________________/

SENTENCING MEMORANDUM 

COMES NOW, the Defendant, DUSTIN SINGLETON, by and through his

undersigned counsel and files this Sentencing Memorandum in support of the joint

sentencing recommendation of 360 months. In support of such sentencing

recommendation, the Defendant would state as follows:

STATUS OF THE CASE 

1) On May 3, 2023, the defendant pled guilty to Counts One, Two and Five of

an eight-count ,Third Superseding Indictment. Counts One, Two and Five charged him

with production of visual depictions involving sexual exploitation of minors, in violation

of 18 U.S.C. Section 2251(a) and (e). ( PSR Paragraph 1).

2) The parties agreed to jointly recommend a total sentence of 30 years of

imprisonment, as to Counts One, Two and Five of the Third Superseding Indictment, to

be served concurrently to each other. Further, the parties agreed to jointly recommend

that the Court run any sentence imposed in this docket concurrently with any sentence

in docket number 22-14054-Cr-Cannon( PSR paragraph 9).

3) Sentencing in this matter has been set for August 29, 2023 at 9:30 a.m.

Case 2:22-cr-14048-AMC Document 276 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/25/2023 Page 1 of 5
MEMORANDUM 

Dustin Singleton, stands before the court for Sentencing. Mr. Singleton is a 43 year

old non-Hispanic black male who is 6'2 and weighs approximately 262 lbs (PSR

paragraph 133). According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention( CDC),

weight that is higher than what is considered healthy for a given height is described as

overweight and obesity. Body Mass Index (BMI) is a screening tool for overweight and

obesity. The BMI for a person with the defendant’s height and weight is 33.6. A person

with a BMI below 18.5 would be underweight; A BMI of 18.5 - 24.9 would be healthy

weight; a BMI of 25.0- 29.9 is overweight and a BMI of 30.0 and above is obesity. Based

upon the defendant height and weight he is considered obese. 1

Since his arrest, the defendant has been identified as pre-diabetic and having high

blood pressure. (PSR paragraph 136). Although not noted in the PSR, the defendant has

advised counsel that he has been prescribed the following medications while in custody

at the St Lucie County Jail : Metformin 1000 mg(diabetes), Keppra-750mg(seizure),

Glipzide- 5 mg (diabetes), Insulin/Sliding Scale, Amlodipine (high blood pressure)- 5 mg;

and aspirin- 80mg. 

According to the PSR,, the defendant began his drug use at the age of 13 and by

the time he was 17 years old he was smoking 56 marijuana joints per day. He continued

to use that amount of marijuana for the next 13 years. He used 1 gram of cocaine daily 

from 2017 up through his arrest. Although the PSR states he used crystal

methamphetamine from 2018 through 2019, the defendant advised counsel that he had

used crystal methamphetamine up through his arrest. In fact, on the day of his arrest, he

had been up for a period of 5 days without sleep on a crystal methamphetamine binge.

He drank a bottle of whiskey a day from 2017 through his arrest as well. In addition to

1

 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Body Mass Index (BMI)

Adult BMI Calculator Results.

Case 2:22-cr-14048-AMC Document 276 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/25/2023 Page 2 of 5
the drugs and alcohol mentioned above, he also used psilocybin mushrooms and

ecstasy. In addition to abusing his body with alcohol and illicit drugs, he also smoked

more than a pack of cigarettes daily throughout his life. Although counsel has nothing

medically to present that the defendant has suffered any permanent medical condition as

a result of his prolific drug use, conventional wisdom suggests that at some point in a

person’s life his choices and the abuse he put his body through will catch up with him. 

According to the CDC, the life expectancy of a black male born in the United

States in 1980 is 63.8 years. 2 Table 15. CDC. Black Demographics. In an article

published by the American Heart Association, July 13, 2020 titled “ High Blood Pressure

Increasingly Deadly for Black People” states that Black People had a nearly two-fold

higher mortality rate than white peers for hypertension-related heart disease deaths in

2018, according to the study. The death rate for Black men was 206.6 per 100,000,

compared with 117.2 for white men. 3 Life expectancy of African - Americans was 3.4

years shorter than that of whites (75.5 vs 78.9), largely attributed to having a higher rate

of heart attacks, sudden cardiac arrest, heart failure, and strokes than white Americans. 

Risk factors for heart disease and stroke, such as high blood pressure, obesity and

diabetes, start earlier among African Americans. ( Science Daily- source American Heart

Association - October 23, 2017). 4

Undersigned Counsel searched online at life expectancy calculators with financial

investment websites such John Hancock and Bankrate.com to determine a person's life

2

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Table 15. Life expectancy at birth

Black Demographics 2021: Black Male Life Expectancy Dropped 6 years since 2014.

3

High Blood Pressure Increasingly Deadly For Black People

Mary Dunklen, American Heart Association News July 13, 2020.

4

Science Daily African- Americans Live Shorter Lives Due to Heart Disease and Stroke

October 17, 2017-Source: American Heart Association

Case 2:22-cr-14048-AMC Document 276 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/25/2023 Page 3 of 5
expectancy with the defendants age, height, weight, comorbidities, who smokes a pack

of cigarettes daily, drinks alcohol daily, and does not physically exercise. The statistical

life expectancy for the defendant with Bankrate.com calculator was 62.2 years to a low

of 61 years with the John Hancock calculator. 

5

Undersigned Counsel asks this Court to consider the data relied upon in this brief

Sentencing Memorandum when considering the reasonableness of the agreed upon

sentence of 30 years in the Bureau of Prisons. Under the most ideal of circumstances, the

defendant's statistical life expectancy at birth in 1980 was 63.8 years. Based on this data,

he has 20 years left of life. Factoring in his obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes along

with years of hard alcohol and drug abuse that 20 years of life left is reduced

significantly. The defendant will be 43 at the time of sentencing. A sentence or 30 years

will make him 73 years of age at the end of his sentence or 10 years beyond his life

expectancy at birth and more than 10 years longer than the financial institutions

calculators determine he will live. It is likely that his comorbidities will continue to

worsen which will likely make him more susceptible to heart and/or stroke issues. A

sentence of 30 years, based on known statistics, means that the defendant will die in

prison prior to the expiration of his 30 year sentence and that fact demonstrates that a

sentence of 30 years is sufficient but not greater than necessary to comply with the 3553

factors.

Wherefore, the defendant asks this court to consider the data provided in this

Sentencing Memorandum in determining that the agreed upon sentence of 30 years is

appropriate in this case.

5

John Hancock Life Expectancy based on 2015 VBT Primary Table

Bankrate.com- Life Expectancy Calculator ``

Case 2:22-cr-14048-AMC Document 276 Entered on FLSD Docket 08/25/2023 Page 4 of 5
I HEREBY CERTIFY that on August 25, 2023, I electronically filed the foregoing 

document with the Clerk of the Court using CM/ECF. 

EDWARD D. REAGAN ESQ.

Attorney for Defendant

By:/s/Edward D Reagan

Edward D Reagan Esq.

658 West Indian town Road 

Suite 209

Jupiter, FL 33458

Telephone: (561) 832-7443 

Email: edward.d.reagan@gmail.com

Fla Bar#0028215

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