United States v. Paul Castillo

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit

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No. 24-2439

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United States of America

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee

v.

Paul Morales Castillo, also known as Paulo Morales Castillo

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant

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

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Submitted: November 8, 2024 Filed: November 14, 2024

[Unpublished]

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Before LOKEN, GRUENDER, and GRASZ, Circuit Judges.

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PER CURIAM.

Federal prisoner Paul Castillo appeals following the district court’s1 denial of a sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) based on Guidelines Amendment

1 The Honorable Stephanie M. Rose, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.

821. His appointed counsel argues that the court abused its discretion in declining to reduce the sentence, and has filed a motion seeking leave to withdraw. Upon careful review, we conclude that the court did not abuse its discretion, as it properly considered the amended Guidelines range and the applicable 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors. See United States v. Burrell, 622 F.3d 961, 963-66 (8th Cir. 2010). While Castillo argues that the court ought to have given more weight to his positive conduct while incarcerated, we presume the court considered such information, see United States v. Grimes, 702 F.3d 460, 471 (8th Cir. 2012); and we discern no error in the court’s decision to give more weight to the seriousness of the offense, see United States v. Granados, 830 F.3d 840, 842-43 (8th Cir. 2016) (per curiam).

Accordingly, we affirm and grant counsel leave to withdraw.

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