United States v. Jeffery Turner

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit

___________________________

No. 24-1097

___________________________

United States of America

Plaintiff - Appellee

v.

Jeffery Turner

Defendant - Appellant

____________

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

____________

Submitted: December 16, 2024 Filed: March 6, 2025

[Unpublished]

____________

Before SMITH, GRUENDER, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.

____________

PER CURIAM.

Jeffery Turner received a 360-month prison sentence after being convicted of various drug crimes. See 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A), (b)(1)(B), 846. He argues the district court 1 abused its discretion when it denied a downward variance.

1 The Honorable C.J. Williams, then District Judge, now Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.

We conclude otherwise. See United States v. Angeles-Moctezuma, 927 F.3d 1033, 1037 (8th Cir. 2019) (reviewing for an abuse of discretion). The district court sufficiently considered the statutory sentencing factors, 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), and “made an individualized assessment based on the facts presented.” United States v. Becerra, 958 F.3d 725, 731 (8th Cir. 2020) (citation omitted). Among the reasons for denying a variance were the “very large quantities” of methamphetamine Turner distributed and the damage it caused to the community. The court also reviewed several mitigating factors, including his drug addiction and mental-health difficulties, but noted that neither explained why he dealt in such large quantities of drugs. A mere disagreement with the weight given to these factors, absent something more, is no reason to reverse. United States v. Bell-Washington, 125 F.4th 870, 873 (8th Cir. 2025) (per curiam) (requiring a “clear error of judgment” (citation omitted)). We accordingly affirm the judgment of the district court.

______________________________