United States v. Antwoyn Spencer, 998 F.3d 843

In 2007 Antwoyn T. and Derrick J. Spencer were convicted of a single conspiracy to distribute both powder cocaine (≥5 kg) and crack cocaine (≥50 g).
Their convictions implicated different statutory penalty provisions under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b) that, before the Fair Sentencing Act, exposed them to higher mandatory minimums for the crack-object.
Antwoyn was sentenced to 324 months; Derrick to 292 months (later reduced to 262 months). Both sought sentence reductions under § 404 of the First Step Act (which made parts of the Fair Sentencing Act retroactive).
The district court denied relief, finding the brothers ineligible because the powder-cocaine quantity still yielded the same statutory range. The Spencers appealed.
The Eighth Circuit considered whether a multidrug (dual-object) conspiracy is a "covered offense" under § 404 when the Fair Sentencing Act modified the statutory penalties for one object (crack) of the conspiracy.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether a dual-object conspiracy that includes crack and powder cocaine is a "covered offense" under First Step Act §404	The Spencers: a covered offense includes any violation whose statutory penalties were modified by the Fair Sentencing Act for any object; the crack-object was modified, so the conspiracy is covered	Government: treat the conspiracy by the statutory range that actually governs sentencing; because powder cocaine determines the range, no relevant modification — hence ineligible	The court held the conspiracy is a covered offense: statutory penalties include penalties triggered by every drug-quantity element, so the Spencers are eligible for First Step Act relief; reversed and remanded

United States v. Taylor, 982 F.3d 1295 (11th Cir. 2020) (holds that statutory penalties for a drug conspiracy include penalties triggered by every drug-quantity element)
United States v. McDonald, 944 F.3d 769 (8th Cir. 2019) (sets the two-step framework for § 404 review and reviews eligibility de novo)
Dorsey v. United States, 567 U.S. 260 (2012) (explains the Fair Sentencing Act and its treatment of pre‑Act offenses)
Braverman v. United States, 317 U.S. 49 (1942) (establishes that participation in a single drug‑trafficking conspiracy constitutes a single offense)
United States v. Spencer, 592 F.3d 866 (8th Cir. 2010) (affirmed the Spencers' original sentences)
United States v. Winters, 986 F.3d 942 (5th Cir. 2021) (supports that dual‑object conspiracies can be covered offenses under the First Step Act)
United States v. Gravatt, 953 F.3d 258 (4th Cir. 2020) (holds that combining a covered offense with an uncovered one does not defeat § 404 eligibility)