United States v. Vergara, 8:19-cr-00319

Rober Jesus Olmedo Ortiz was convicted and sentenced in 2020 for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, specifically more than 5 kilograms, on a vessel under U.S. jurisdiction.
He received an 87-month prison sentence, notably below the guidelines range (108–135 months), due to mitigating factors such as remorse, poverty, and family responsibilities.
Ortiz had no prior criminal history points, categorizing him in the lowest criminal history category (I).
He moved pro se for sentence reduction based on Amendment 821 to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which allows a two-level offense level reduction for certain first-time offenders.
The U.S. Probation Office reported that, due to the court's prior downward variance, any further reduction would bring the sentence below the minimum permissible under the amended guidelines.
The Federal Defender declined to seek further reduction, consistent with the court’s prior sentence being the lowest allowed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Eligibility for Reduction under Amendment 821	Ortiz: No criminal history merits reduction	Government/Probation: Sentence is at lowest allowed by guidelines	Reduction denied; sentence at minimum of amended range
Applicability of 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2)	Ortiz: Amendment 821 applies retroactively	Government: Cannot reduce below amended range minimum	Reduction impermissible below guideline minimum
Appropriateness under § 3553(a) factors	Ortiz: Mitigating factors support reduction	Government: Seriousness of offense and deterrence require upholding sentence	Further reduction denied on these grounds
Further filings or action by Federal Defender	Ortiz: Filed pro se motions	Federal Defender: Declined to pursue further action	No further motion permitted; case closed

(None in opinion with eligible reporter citations; authority was based on statutes and Sentencing Guidelines, not judicial precedent.)