| Docket: 13-3673 | Opinion Date: December 16, 2014 |
| Areas of Law: Criminal Law |
Jones pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. Other charges were dismissed. Jones qualified for the safety valve and retroactive amendment to the USSG, resulting in a 46-month sentence, followed by five years of supervised release. Six months after his release, he was caught driving on a suspended license and charged with obstructing an officer. The court required community service and a cognitive behavioral therapy program. Jones accomplished both, but later resisted an officer during a traffic stop, was charged with aggravated battery for a bar fight, and was charged with battery for another fight. His girlfriend evicted him. The probation officer directed Jones to report, but he failed to do so. He drifted and did not report, failing to file four monthly probation reports. After he was found, Jones’s urine tested positive for marijuana. A petition to revoke supervised release noted the possibility of a three-year prison sentences. Jones’s attorney emphasized the relatively minor nature of the violations and that Jones was recovering from surgery, had established a stable residence, had completed a welding program, a substance-abuse evaluation, and a cognitive behavioral therapy program. The court announced a sentence of four months—the bottom of the Guidelines range, followed 36 months of supervised release. Jones stated that he thought, by pleading guilty, that he would not have continued supervised release. Jones completed the imprisonment sentence. The Seventh Circuit affirmed the supervised release sentence.
