Order denying 47 Motion for Reduction of Sentence - USSC Amendment — USA v. Hopkins (Dkt. 53, N.D. Ga.)

Record facts

U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia · No. 1:22-cr-00284-SEG-CMS · Doc. 53 · 2024-04-15 · Docket on CourtListener

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
NORTHERN DISTRICT OF GEORGIA 
ATLANTA DIVISION 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
 
 
v. 
 
CRIMINAL ACTION NO. 
HARRESCIA HOPKINS, 
            1:22-CR-0284-SEG 
 
 
Defendant. 
 
 
 
O R D E R  
 
This matter is before the Court on Defendant Harrescia Hopkins’s 
motion for a reduction of sentence under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). (Doc. 47.)   This 
statute permits a district court to reduce a term of incarceration “in the case of 
a defendant who has been sentenced to a term of imprisonment based on a 
sentencing range that has subsequently been lowered by the Sentencing 
Commission . . .” 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2).  Ms. Hopkins seeks a reduction based 
on the retroactive criminal history amendment (Amendment 821) to the United 
States Sentencing Guidelines (“U.S.S.G.”).  Amendment 821, made effective on 
November 1, 2023, retroactively permits a two-level reduction of the total 
offense level for certain defendants who have zero criminal history points and 
who satisfy other enumerated criteria.   
Ms. Hopkins, a former correctional officer at the United States 
Penitentiary in Atlanta, Georgia, pleaded guilty on December 20, 2022, to two 
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counts of wire fraud (18 U.S.C. § 1343) for submitting two fraudulent 
applications for a Paycheck Protection Program (“PPP”) loan on behalf of 
“Hopkins Towing and Storage,” a fake business.  (Doc. 19.)    She was sentenced 
on June 8, 2023, to five months of imprisonment to be followed by two years of 
supervised release.   (Doc. 35.)  The Government opposes Ms. Hopkins’s request 
to reduce this sentence, arguing that she “already received the benefit of 
Amendment 821 via a variance at sentencing.”  (Doc. 52 at 1.) 
Prior to sentencing, Ms. Hopkins filed a supplemental sentencing 
memorandum urging the Court to consider a reduction of any sentence 
pursuant to Amendment 821 because “were she to be sentenced a mere seven 
months from today, this proposed amendment would likely be in effect and 
apply to her case.”  (Doc. 24 at 2.)  The Government stated that it did “not object 
to Hopkins receiving a two-level downward variance at sentencing to receive 
the anticipated benefit of the amendment as long as the record is clear that 
Hopkins waives the right to seek a further sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. 
§ 3582(c)(2) based on Section 4C1.1 once the amendment is adopted.”  (Doc. 32 
at 1-2.)  
At the time of Ms. Hopkins’s sentencing, her base offense level was 7. 
The base offense level was then reduced by two points for acceptance of 
responsibility, and enhanced by six points because the loss was more than 
$40,000 but less than $95,000, resulting in a total offense level of 11.  That 
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corresponded to a custody guideline range of 8-14 months.  The Court then 
varied downward based, in part, on the reduction that Ms. Hopkins would have 
received pursuant to Amendment 821 had it been in effect at that time.  The 
Court’s sentence thus took into account the guideline range of 4-10 months that 
would have applied if Amendment 821 had then been in place.  And the Court 
sentenced Ms. Hopkins within that reduced range.  Put another way, 
Amendment 821 was already factored into the sentencing decision.1   
Having fully considered Ms. Hopkins’s motion, and taking into account 
the policy statement set forth at U.S.S.G. § 1B1.10 and the sentencing factors 
in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), the Court concludes that no further reduction is 
warranted.  Ms. Hopkins’s motion for a reduction of sentence is therefore 
DENIED.  (Doc. 47.) 
The Clerk is DIRECTED to mail a copy of this order to Ms. Hopkins at the 
following addresses: 
Harrescia Hopkins  
Reg. No. 15535-510 
FMC Lexington Atwood Unit  
P.O. Box 14525  
Lexington, KY 40512 
 
 
 
1 As Ms. Hopkins noted in her supplemental sentencing memorandum, a 
reduction pursuant to Amendment 821 “would place Ms. Hopkins at a level 9 
with a guideline range of 4-10 months.”  (Doc. 24 at 2.)   
 
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Harrescia Hopkins  
1509 Conley Way 
Conley, GA 30288 
 
SO ORDERED this 15th day of April, 2024.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
SARAH E. GERAGHTY 
 
 
 
 
 
 
United States District Judge 
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