United States v. Kelly Hammons

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In 1996, Hammons was convicted of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base (crack), in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. The United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama sentenced Hammons to 144 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release. On January 21, 2006, Hammons was released from prison and began serving his five year term of supervised release.

On February 22, 2008, Hammons was convicted in Los Angeles Superior Court of violating California Vehicle Code Section 23152(B): Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol. On March 6, 2008, the Southern District of Alabama trans- ferred jurisdiction for Hammons’s supervision to the Central District of California. On April 4, 2008, the United States Probation Office (“Probation Office”) filed a petition in the district court alleging that Hammons had violated the condi- tions of his supervised release by committing a federal, state, or local crime—i.e., driving under the influence.

On April 15, 2008, the Probation Office prepared a Viola- tion Report. In the Violation Report, the Probation Office did not recommend that the district…