United States v. Derek Dixon

── United States v. Derek Dixon ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Date: April 29, 2026 Category: NEW USCA11 Case: 25-10838 Document: 32-1 Date Filed: 04/29/2026 Page: 1 of 8 NOT FOR PUBLICATION In the United States Court of Appeals For the Eleventh Circuit ____________________ No. 25-10838 Non-Argument Calendar ____________________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus DEREK DIXON, a.k.a. Eric, Defendant-Appellant. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida D.C. Docket No. 9:05-cr-80107-DPG-1 ____________________ Before ROSENBAUM, LUCK, and LAGOA, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Derek Dixon appeals the district court’s denial of his 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2) motion for a sentence reduction based on USCA11 Case: 25-10838 Document: 32-1 Date Filed: 04/29/2026 Page: 2 of 8 2 Opinion of the Court 25-10838 Amendment 821 to the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. The govern- ment has moved for summary affirmance, arguing that the court properly exercised its discretion to deny a reduction. Because the government’s position is clearly right as a matter of law and there is no substantial question as to the outcome of the case, we grant the government’s motion and affirm the denial of Dixon’s § 3582(c)(2) motion. I. In 2007, Dixon pled guilty under a written plea agreement to two counts of carjacking and one count of possession of a fire- arm by a convicted felon. The government agreed to dismiss the remaining nine counts. The parties jointly recommended the max- imum possible prison sentence of 480 months. Dixon agreed that 480 months was a “reasonable sentence based on the factors listed in [18 U.S.C. §] 3553(a).” Undisputed facts in Dixon’s presentence investigation report (“PSR”) show that, over several months in 2004, Dixon participated in a violent crime spree involving carjackings, robberies, homi- cides, and unlawful possession of firearms and ammunition. Over a few months, when he was nineteen years old, Dixon committed two armed carjackings, pistol-whipping victims both times, and killed four people in two separate drive-by shootings, among other conduct. At the time of these offenses, Dixon was on probation for shooting at three victims in a moving vehicle. The PSR recommended a total offense level of 40 and a crim- inal-history category of III, which yielded a guideline range of 360 USCA11 Case: 25-10838 Document: 32-1 Date Filed: 04/29/2026 Page: 3 of 8 25-10838 Opinion of the Court 3 months to life. The statutory maximums reduced the top of the guideline range to 480 months. The district court imposed the maximum possible sentence of 480 months of imprisonment. Given the extremely “serious” and “violent” nature of the offenses, the court found that a sen- tence at the high end of the guideline range was appropriate. It appears Dixon did not file a direct appeal. As for Dixon’s motion to vacate his sentence under 28 U.S.C. § 2255, the court dismissed it as time barred. Then, in 2021, the district court denied Dixon’s motion for compassionate release