United States v. Tucker, 356 F. Supp. 3d 808

Defendant Logan Tucker pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 50 grams of cocaine base in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 846; originally sentenced in 2001 to 262 months imprisonment and five years supervised release.
At sentencing Tucker was treated as a career offender under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1, yielding a base offense level of 37 and a Guidelines range of 262–327 months (after acceptance of responsibility, final offense level 34, CHC VI).
The First Step Act § 404 allows courts to reduce sentences as if sections 2 and 3 of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 were in effect at the time of the covered offense; the Fair Sentencing Act raised the crack threshold that triggers the 10‑year‑to‑life range from 50 g to 280 g.
Retroactive application of the Fair Sentencing Act changed Tucker’s statutory exposure and Guidelines: 50 g now falls in the § 841(b)(1)(B) range (5–40 years), career‑offender base level becomes 34, final offense level 31, Guidelines range 188–235 months.
The Probation Office and the Government agree Tucker is eligible under § 404; the Government opposes immediate release while Tucker seeks reduction to time served and a reduced supervised‑release term.
The court found a reduction to the low end of the new Guidelines (188 months) would be appropriate and ordered Tucker’s sentence reduced to time served and supervised release reduced to four years, leaving other judgment terms unchanged.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Eligibility under First Step Act § 404 for retroactive application of the Fair Sentencing Act	Government: Tucker is eligible (agrees eligibility)	Tucker: Eligible and seeks immediate sentence reduction to time served	Court: Eligible; First Step Act applies retroactively and alters statutory range and Guidelines
Effect of career‑offender status on relief under § 404	Government: career‑offender status remains but does not preclude eligibility; opposes immediate release	Tucker: Even as career offender, recalculated Guidelines warrant reduction to time served	Court: Career‑offender guideline unchanged but recalculated base level reduces Guidelines range to 188–235 months, supporting relief
Whether immediate release is warranted	Government: Opposes immediate release despite conceding eligibility	Tucker: Requests immediate release given the magnitude of the Guideline reduction and his age/recidivism considerations	Court: Reduction to time served granted; immediate release ordered as consistent with § 3553(a) objectives
Supervised‑release term adjustment	Government: (implicit) supervised release should reflect changed statutory minimum	Tucker: Seeks reduction of supervised release consistent with revised statute	Court: Reduced supervised release for Count One from five years to four years; other judgment terms unchanged