United States v. Ordonez, 8:18-cr-00427

Rosemberth Garcia Torres was convicted in 2019 for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute over five kilograms of cocaine while on a vessel subject to U.S. jurisdiction.
He was sentenced to 98 months in prison, a downward variance from the advisory guideline range of 135-168 months, due to significant mitigating factors (remorse, family responsibilities, poverty, lack of education, cooperation attempts, and ineligibility for certain release programs).
Garcia Torres had no criminal history points and was classified as Category I for criminal history.
He filed a pro se motion to reduce his sentence under Amendment 821 to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which allows a two-level reduction for certain first-time offenders.
The U.S. Probation Office and the appointed Federal Defender concluded that Garcia Torres, having already received a sentence below the amended guideline range, was not eligible for further reduction.
The motion was reviewed under relevant statutory guidelines and local court procedures.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Eligibility for Reduction Under Amendment 821	Garcia Torres argued his offense qualified him for a sentence reduction as a first-time, nonviolent offender.	U.S. claimed he was already sentenced below revised guideline range; further reduction not permitted.	Court held he is ineligible because any further reduction would go below amended guideline minimum.
Consistency with 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) Factors	Garcia Torres implicitly argued his personal circumstances and low risk support reduction.	U.S. argued severity and international nature of crime, plus prior variance, weigh against reduction.	Court found sentencing factors did not support further reduction in light of seriousness and deterrence.
Applicability of Sentencing Commission Policy Statements	Garcia Torres sought retroactive application based on Commission’s new guidelines.	U.S. relied on policy prohibiting reduction below new range minimum.	Court accepted USPO and defender recommendation, denying reduction per policy.
Sufficiency of Original Downward Variance	Garcia Torres did not challenge adequacy of original variance.	U.S. highlighted initial variance covered all mitigating factors.	Court held original variance sufficiently accounted for defendant’s circumstances.