Court Opinion

ID: 9950881
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2024-03-15 00:00:31.900571+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:37:23.948410
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-30607           Document: 58-1         Page: 1      Date Filed: 03/14/2024

          United States Court of Appeals
               for the Fifth Circuit                                 United States Court of Appeals
                                  ____________                                Fifth Circuit

                                                                            FILED
                                   No. 23-30607                        March 14, 2024
                                 Summary Calendar                      Lyle W. Cayce
                                 ____________                               Clerk

United States of America,

                                                                   Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                         versus

Hector Barragan-Espino,

                                           Defendant—Appellant.
                  ______________________________

                  Appeal from the United States District Court
                     for the Western District of Louisiana
                           USDC No. 5:08-CR-121-1
                  ______________________________

Before Jolly, Higginson, and Duncan, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam: *
      Hector Barragan-Espino, federal prisoner # 90054-098, appeals from
the district court’s denial of his 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) motion for
compassionate release. Barragan-Espino’s compassionate release motion
sought a reduction in the 300-month sentence of imprisonment imposed on

      _____________________
      *
          This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-30607       Document: 58-1       Page: 2    Date Filed: 03/14/2024

                                 No. 23-30607

his conviction of possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a
mixture and substance containing a detectable amount of methamphetamine.
       As the district court determined, a prisoner cannot use a
compassionate release motion “to challenge the legality or the duration of his
sentence.” United States v. Escajeda, 58 F.4th 184, 187 (5th Cir. 2023).
Separately, Barragan-Espino’s contentions as to a “change in law” are vague
and conclusory, and he fails to identify any specific intervening change that
would affect his sentence. He has not shown that the district court abused
its discretion in denying his compassionate release motion. See United States
v. Chambliss, 948 F.3d 691, 693 (5th Cir. 2020).
       AFFIRMED.

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