1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

WO

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA

United States of America,

Plaintiff,

v. 

Eugene Strong, Jr.,

Defendant.

No. CR-18-00266-001-PHX-DLR

ORDER 

Before the Court is Defendant’s Motion for Compassionate Release. (Doc. 42.) The 

motion has been fully briefed and, for the following reasons, is denied.

I. Background

In October 2018, Defendant was sentenced to serve 84 months in the Bureau of 

Prisons (“BOP”), for Brandishing a Firearm During a Crime of Violence, a Class A felony. 

He admitted robbing three tellers at a Phoenix Federal Credit Union, displaying a handgun 

during the robbery, and firing one round into the ceiling when he felt one of the tellers did 

not seem intimidated. The $3,700 he stole was recovered upon apprehension. (Doc. 37 at 

1, 6-7.) Defendant, who is housed at Berlin FCI, began serving his sentence in February 

2018. His projected release date is April 11, 2024. He has served approximately 65% of 

his sentence. 

II. The First Step Act

Until passage of the First Step Act of 2018 (“FSA”), early release was allowed only 

Case 2:18-cr-00266-DLR Document 52 Filed 02/22/22 Page 1 of 4
- 2 -

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

upon motion of the Director of the Bureau of Prisons (“BOP”). However, under the FSA 

a defendant can bring a motion to the Court after exhausting his administrative remedies: 

[T]he court upon motion of the Director of the [BOP], or upon 

motion of the defendant after the defendant has fully exhausted 

all administrative rights to appeal a failure of the [BOP] 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[.] 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). 

The Court may grant a compassionate release and convert the remainder of a 

sentence to home confinement if it finds that “extraordinary and compelling reasons 

warrant such a reduction” and the reduction is consistent with the Sentencing Commission 

“policy statements” found in U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13; see 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A); United 

States v. Young, No. 2:00-cr-0002-1, 2020 WL 1047815, at *6 (M.D. Tenn. Mar. 4, 2020)

(citations omitted) (“Although it does not appear that any federal circuit court of appeals 

has addressed this issue, a majority of the district courts that have considered the issue have 

likewise held, based on the First Step Act, that they have the authority to reduce a prisoner’s 

sentence upon the court’s independent finding of extraordinary or compelling reasons.”).

The Sentencing Commission set forth three specific categories as qualifying as 

extraordinary and compelling: terminal medical conditions, medical debilitation, and 

family circumstances. U.S.S.G. § 1B.13, App. Notes 1(A)–(C). A catchall was added—

other reasons—which may act “in combination” with the prior categories or might be 

wholly independent. See U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13, App. Note 1(D). The Sentencing 

Commission policy statement requires a finding that the “defendant is not a danger to the 

safety of any other person or to the community.” U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13(2) & App. Note 

1(A)(ii)(I), (III). 

These policy statements pre-dated the enactment of The First-Step Act of 2018. The 

FSA made significant changes to § 3582(c)(1)(A) intended to “increase the use of 

compassionate release,” by entrusting district courts with discretion previously reserved 

for the director of the BOP. United States v. Brown, 411 F.Supp.3d 446, 449 (S.D. Iowa 

2019); see also United States v. Vigneau, 97-cr-33-JJM-LDA, 2020 WL 4345105 at *3-4 

Case 2:18-cr-00266-DLR Document 52 Filed 02/22/22 Page 2 of 4
- 3 -

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

(D.R.I. Jul. 21, 2020). The Sentencing Commission has not updated § 1B1.13 since the 

First Step Act amended § 3582(c)(1)(A) to provide that motions may be filed not only by 

BOP Director, but also by a Defendant. See United States v. Aruda, 993 F. 3d 797, at 798-

99 (9th Cir. 2021). There is no binding policy statement currently governing 

compassionate release motions filed by defendants. Id. When deciding whether a sentence 

reduction is consistent with the Sentencing Commission policy statements, the Court 

recognizes that the FSA broadened its authority to act on a vast variety of circumstances 

that may constitute extraordinary and compelling circumstances. Brown, 411 F. Supp. At 

449. 

The purpose of the compassionate release provisions of the FSA is to allow 

defendants with extraordinary and compelling reasons to receive an expeditious resolution 

of a request for early release. However, “an exceptional event, . . . compassionate release 

remains ‘rare’ and ‘extraordinary,’ and courts routinely deny claims from inmates absent a 

showing of truly exceptional circumstances.” United States v. West, No. 3:17-cr-00075, 

2021 WL 1785077, at *2 (D. Or. May 5, 2021) (quoting United States v. Hamman, No. 

3:16-cr-185, 2020 WL 3047371, at *5 (D. Or. June 8, 2020)).

III. Analysis

A. Exhaustion of Administrative Remedies

The starting point of the Court’s §3582(c)(1)(A) inquiry is whether the Defendant 

has exhausted his administrative remedies by filing an administrative request for 

compassionate release with the warden of his facility. The Government does not contest 

that Defendant has exhausted his administrative remedies. 

B. Extraordinary and Compelling Reasons

Defendant’s motion argues extraordinary and compelling reasons for his early 

release exist based on his claim that he has asthma. The Government correctly points out 

that the Defendant’s medical records do not show that he has asthma. He has not been 

diagnosed with or treated for asthma of any sort, let alone the moderate-to-severe asthma 

that the CDC has recognized as a condition that can make severe illness for COVID-19 

Case 2:18-cr-00266-DLR Document 52 Filed 02/22/22 Page 3 of 4
- 4 -

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

more likely. In his reply Defendant points to a record showing that he has a “history” of 

asthma. Medical history is routinely based on self-reporting of the patient. He also 

reported that he was short of breath while playing basketball. However, during medical 

evaluations in March 2020, July 2021, and August 2021, he denied shortness of breath. 

Other than a reference to a “history” of asthma there is nothing in the records that remotely 

suggests that the Defendant suffers from asthma let alone the moderate or severe asthma 

the CDC has indicated may create a concern. 

IV. Conclusion

Defendant has not shown extraordinary and compelling reasons for his immediate 

release. Defendant has not shown that it is probable that he has an underlying medical 

condition that puts him at increased risk for serious illness should he contract the COVID19 virus.

IT IS ORDERED that Defendant’s Motion for Compassionate Release (Doc. 42) 

is DENIED.

Dated this 18th day of February, 2022.

Douglas L. Rayes

United States District Judge

Case 2:18-cr-00266-DLR Document 52 Filed 02/22/22 Page 4 of 4