United States v. Daniel Wert

── United States v. Daniel Wert ── Case No.: 24-10127 Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Date: March 23, 2026 Category: NEW USCA11 Case: 24-10127 Document: 41-1 Date Filed: 03/23/2026 Page: 1 of 13 NOT FOR PUBLICATION In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 24-10127 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus DANIEL WERT, Defendant-Appellant. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 6:97-cr-00001-CEM-DCI-13 ____________________ Before JORDAN, ABUDU, and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Daniel Wert, who is proceeding pro se, is a federal prisoner serving a life sentence for conspiracy to possess with intent to dis- tribute marijuana and cocaine. He appeals the district court’s denial USCA11 Case: 24-10127 Document: 41-1 Date Filed: 03/23/2026 Page: 2 of 13 2 Opinion of the Court 24-10127 of his motion for compassionate release and requests a new sen- tencing hearing. Following review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm. I In the early 1990s, Mr. Wert became a part of a large inter- state cocaine and marijuana trafficking organization. The leader of the organization paid Mr. Wert and two co-conspirators $10,000 each to kill Eloy Benevides over a disputed marijuana transaction. In October of 1993, Mr. Wert shot and killed Mr. Benevides; he and the two co-conspirators then buried Mr. Benevides’ body in Volu- sia County, Florida. After the murder, Mr. Wert stopped delivering drugs for the organization. On October 13, 1993, authorities ar- rested Mr. Wert for possession of ten pounds of marijuana and pos- session of a firearm. In April of 1997, Mr. Wert proceeded to a 14-day jury trial. The jury convicted Mr. Wert of a single count of conspiracy to pos- sess with intent to distribute marijuana and cocaine in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. Mr. Wert had a criminal history category of IV and a total offense level of 43, resulting in a then-mandatory guideline sentence of life imprisonment. In July of 1997, the district court im- posed a sentence of life imprisonment. In September of 2021, Mr. Wert, proceeding pro se, moved for compassionate release pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582. He later supplemented his motion asking, in the alternative, for a sentence reduction. The district court denied his motion. Mr. Wert ap- USCA11 Case: 24-10127 Document: 41-1 Date Filed: 03/23/2026 Page: 3 of 13 24-10127 Opinion of the Court 3 pealed, and we remanded because the court’s explanation was “in- sufficient for meaningful appellate review.” United States v. Wert, No. 22-11965, 2023 WL 5745487, at *3 (11th Cir. Sept. 6, 2023). Mr. Wert filed two motions for “spoliation” while he awaited the dis- trict court’s compassionate release decision on remand. See D.E. 615; D.E. 620. Simply put, he asked the court to presume that his original sentencing transcript—which is now unavailable—re- vealed favorable mitigating evidence to support his claims for com- passionate release or a sent