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 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

 EASTERN DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN 

 SOUTHERN DIVISION 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

D-18 LEONARD “DAD” MOORE, 

Defendant. 

 / 

 

Case No. 06-20465 

Honorable Nancy G. Edmunds 

 

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/healthCase 2:06-cr-20465-NGE-MKM ECF No. 3032, PageID.22555 Filed 11/03/20 Page 4 of 8
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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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