Drug trafficker wants reduced sentence

A man convicted of drug trafficking in 2016 now wants his sentence reduced, pursuant to a recent amendment made to the sentencing guidelines of the United States.

Huang Xi has filed in the U.S. District Court for the NMI a pro se (“without counsel”) motion for a sentence reduction pursuant to Amendment 821 of the United States’ sentencing guidelines.

Specifically, Huang is asking for a two-level reduction of his final offense level of 35 or, in the alternative, a sentence reduction that the court deems appropriate.

A two-level reduction would lower Huang’s offense level from 35 to 33, and the Sentencing Guidelines range applicable to him would be 135-168 months.

Currently, because Huang was sentenced based on offense level 35, the court sentenced Huang to a term of 188 months in prison.

The U.S Sentencing Commission’s amendments to the U.S Sentencing Guidelines became effective on Nov. 1, 2023. These amendments address the sentencing disparities in criminal history, including those with no criminal history.

To be exact, the commission made 10 amendments, which have expanded the criteria for sentence reduction. One of those amendments is Amendment 821, which provides a decrease of two offense levels for offenders with no criminal history.

This means if a person had “zero criminal history points” and did not commit a disqualifying offense like sex offense, gun charges, hate crimes and terrorism, then that person may qualify for a two-level reduction off of the final offense level the court based his sentence on.

According to court documents, Huang was indicted on a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute at least two kilograms of methamphetamine.

At the advice of his counsel, Huang pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge on March 15, 2016. On Aug. 12, 2016, the court sentenced Huang to a term of 188 months, to be followed by a term of three years supervised release.

On May 10, 2017, Huang filed a motion to vacate or set aside his conviction and sentence but on April 6, 2018, the court denied Huang’s petition.