Court Opinion

ID: 9364301
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-01-18 21:00:57.251124+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:15:37.026983
License: Public Domain

USCA11 Case: 22-11906    Document: 16-1     Date Filed: 01/18/2023   Page: 1 of 4

                                                  [DO NOT PUBLISH]
                                   In the
                United States Court of Appeals
                        For the Eleventh Circuit

                          ____________________

                                No. 22-11906
                          Non-Argument Calendar
                          ____________________

       UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
                                                      Plaintiff-Appellee,
       versus
       MARK BELIDOR,

                                                  Defendant-Appellant.

                          ____________________

                 Appeal from the United States District Court
                     for the Southern District of Florida
                   D.C. Docket No. 1:07-cr-20096-PCH-1
                          ____________________
USCA11 Case: 22-11906       Document: 16-1       Date Filed: 01/18/2023      Page: 2 of 4

       2                        Opinion of the Court                   22-11906

       Before WILLIAM PRYOR, Chief Judge, NEWSOM, and GRANT, Circuit
       Judges.
       PER CURIAM:
               Mark Belidor, a federal prisoner, appeals the denial of his
       motion for compassionate release. 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). The
       district court ruled that Belidor failed to identify an extraordinary
       and compelling reason to warrant early release, U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13,
       and that the statutory sentencing factors, 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a),
       weighed against granting relief. The United States moves for a
       summary affirmance and to stay the briefing schedule. Because
       “the position of [the United States] . . . is clearly right as a matter of
       law so that there can be no substantial question as to the outcome
       of the case,” Groendyke Transp., Inc. v. Davis, 406 F.2d 1158, 1162
       (5th Cir. 1969), we grant the motion for summary affirmance and
       deny as moot the motion to stay the briefing schedule.
              A jury convicted Belidor of possessing a firearm as a felon.
       18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g), 924(e). Belidor’s presentence investigation re-
       port stated that he was subject to an enhanced sentence as an
       armed career criminal and recounted his long criminal history,
       which included convictions for resisting an officer with and with-
       out violence, strong-arm robbery, trespassing, and obstruction of
       justice. For the underlying offense, the report stated that a traffic
       stop of Belidor’s vehicle revealed a dead passenger, Belidor wearing
       a bulletproof vest, and two handguns, a high-powered rifle, and
       several loaded magazines. At sentencing, Belidor stated that he
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       22-11906               Opinion of the Court                       3

       agreed with his classification as an armed career criminal. The dis-
       trict court found that Belidor’s offense was “about as violent and
       dangerous a scene as [it] ha[d] ever heard of” and sentenced him to
       a guideline range sentence of 226 months of imprisonment. We af-
       firmed Belidor’s sentence. United States v. Belidor, 279 F. App’x
       924 (11th Cir. 2008).
              In March 2022, Belidor moved for compassionate release. 18
       U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A). Belidor argued that he established extraor-
       dinary and compelling reasons for his release due to COVID-19, his
       health conditions of obesity and hypertension, and his erroneous
       designation as an armed career criminal. The district court denied
       Belidor’s motion. The district court ruled that Belidor’s medical
       conditions were not extraordinary or compelling because he was
       receiving treatment for them and had been fully vaccinated against
       COVID-19. The district court also recounted the “serious and vio-
       lent” nature of Belidor’s offense and ruled that he remained a dan-
       ger to the community and that the sentencing factors weighed
       against granting him relief.
              Summary affirmance is appropriate because there is no sub-
       stantial question that Belidor is not entitled to compassionate re-
       lease. See Groendyke, 406 F.2d at 1162. Belidor argues that his
       comorbidities—obesity and hypertension—increase his chance of
       medical complications from COVID-19. But Belidor’s medical rec-
       ords reflect that he is receiving treatment for those conditions, is
       fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and has received a booster vac-
       cine. Insofar as Belidor argues that his “invalid” designation as an
USCA11 Case: 22-11906      Document: 16-1     Date Filed: 01/18/2023     Page: 4 of 4

       4                      Opinion of the Court                 22-11906

       armed career criminal constitutes an extraordinary and compelling
       reason to reduce his sentence, his argument is foreclosed by prece-
       dent. In United States v. Bryant, 996 F.3d 1243 (11th Cir. 2021), we
       held that the policy statement in section 1B1.13 governs a motion
       for compassionate release, whether it is filed by the Bureau of Pris-
       ons or by a prisoner, and that a district court cannot “develop
       ‘other reasons’ that might justify a reduction in a defendant’s sen-
       tence.” Id. at 1247-48. As for Belidor’s argument that the district
       court erred by not addressing his rehabilitation efforts, the district
       court was not required to afford weight to his rehabilitation,
       U.S.S.G. § 1B1.13 cmt. n.3, and it did not abuse its discretion by
       placing greater weight on the seriousness and violent nature of his
       offense. See United States v. Harris, 989 F.3d 908, 912 (11th Cir.
       2021).
             We GRANT the motion for summary affirmance, AFFIRM
       the denial of Belidor’s motion for compassionate release, and
       DENY AS MOOT the motion to stay the briefing schedule.