United States v. Hosa Howard

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 21-2258 ___________________________

United States of America

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee

v.

Hosa R. Howard, also known as Pee Wee

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Eastern ____________

Submitted: December 3, 2021 Filed: December 8, 2021 [Unpublished] ____________

Before KELLY, ERICKSON, and STRAS, Circuit Judges. ____________

PER CURIAM.

Hosa Howard appeals after the district court1 denied his motion seeking a sentence reduction under the First Step Act. His counsel has moved for leave to withdraw, and has filed a brief challenging the denial.

1 The Honorable John A. Jarvey, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. Upon careful review, we conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying Howard a sentence reduction after considering the parties’ arguments. See United States v. McDonald, 944 F.3d 769, 771 (8th Cir. 2019) (defendant’s eligibility for reduced sentence under First Step Act is reviewed de novo, and district court’s decision to grant or deny authorized sentence reduction is reviewed for abuse of discretion); United States v. Williams, 943 F.3d 841, 844 (8th Cir. 2019) (sentencing court must have considered the parties’ arguments and have a reasoned basis for its decision).

Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court and grant counsel permission to withdraw. ______________________________

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