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United States v. Spires

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit
Nov 24, 2020
No. 20-1896 (8th Cir. Nov. 24, 2020)

Opinion

No. 20-1896

11-24-2020

United States of America Plaintiff - Appellee v. Ambrose Rayshawn Spires, also known as Ambrose Spries Defendant - Appellant


Appeal from United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Eastern [Unpublished] Before ERICKSON, WOLLMAN, and STRAS, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM.

After considering a number of factors, the district court reduced Ambrose Spires's life sentence to 360 months in prison under the First Step Act. See Pub. L. No. 115-391, 132 Stat. 5194 (2018). Though he challenges the decision on a host of grounds, we affirm.

The Honorable John A. Jarvey, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. --------

We conclude that the district court did not abuse its discretion when it declined to reduce Spires's sentence even further, see United States v. Harris, 960 F.3d 1103, 1106 (8th Cir. 2020) (articulating the standard of review), or when it denied his motion for reconsideration, see United States v. King, 854 F.3d 433, 443 (8th Cir. 2017) (same). Nor is a motion like this one the proper way to open a collateral attack on his original sentence. See United States v. Moore, 963 F.3d 725, 728 (8th Cir. 2020) (explaining how motions under the First Step Act are different from "original, plenary sentencing" proceedings); see also United States v. Denson, 963 F.3d 1080, 1089 (11th Cir. 2020) (refusing to entertain this type of attack).

We accordingly affirm the judgment of the district court and grant counsel permission to withdraw.


Summaries of

United States v. Spires

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit
Nov 24, 2020
No. 20-1896 (8th Cir. Nov. 24, 2020)
Case details for

United States v. Spires

Case Details

Full title:United States of America Plaintiff - Appellee v. Ambrose Rayshawn Spires…

Court:United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit

Date published: Nov 24, 2020

Citations

No. 20-1896 (8th Cir. Nov. 24, 2020)