TEXAS, USA — In a first for his term, President Joe Biden granted three people pardons as well as dozens of other commutations. Many of those people are from Texas.
One of the three people who were pardoned in the announcement on April 26 was Betty Jo Bogans, a 51-year-old woman from Houston. She was convicted in 1998 of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine in Texas after attempting to transport drugs for her boyfriend and his accomplice. Bogans, a single mother with no prior record, received a seven-year sentence. In the years since her release from prison, Bogans has held consistent employment, even while undergoing cancer treatment, and has raised a son.
Nineteen Texans have also had their sentences commuted for drug offenses they were convicted of.
Here's a breakdown of the Texas residents who had their sentences shortened by the president:
Sharon Louise Boatright from Richardson, Texas:
- Offense: Possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
- Sentence: 188 months of imprisonment, four-year term of supervised release.
- Commutation grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in-home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the four-year term of supervised release.
Ramola Kaye Brown from Huntsville, Texas:
- Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and less than 50 kilograms of marijuana.
- Sentence: 145 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release.
- Commutation grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in-home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release.
Mark Richard Burton from Odessa, Texas:
- Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine and/or 500 grams or more of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine.
- Sentence: 121 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release, $15,000 fine.
- Commutation grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in-home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release.
Nickolas Cano from Amarillo, Texas:
- Offense: Possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine and aiding and abetting.
- Sentence: 140 months of imprisonment, four-year term of supervised release.
- Commutation grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in-home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the four-year term of supervised release.
Lori Jean Cross from North Richland Hills, Texas:
- Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
- Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release.
- Commutation grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in-home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the three-year term of supervised release.
Catalina Davis from San Antonio, Texas:
- Offense: Conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine; aiding and abetting the possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
- Sentence: 210 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release (March 6, 2014); amended to 151 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release.
- Commutation grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in-home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release.
Deborah Ann Dodd from Forney, Texas:
- Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectible amount of methamphetamine or 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine.
- Sentence: 140 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release.
- Commutation grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in-home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release.
Nova Neal Finau from Fort Worth, Texas:
- Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance.
- Sentence: 140 months of imprisonment, four-year term of supervised release.
- Commutation grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in-home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the four-year term of supervised release.
Julio Garza from Edinberg, Texas:
- Offense: Possession with intent to distribute 10 kilograms of cocaine.
- Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release.
- Commutation grant: Sentence commuted to expire on Aug. 24, 2022, leaving intact and in effect the 10-year term of supervised release.
Stephanie Hernandez from Dallas, Texas:
- Offense: Distribution of a controlled substance.
- Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release.
- Commutation grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in-home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the three-year term of supervised release.
David Charles Jenkins from Beaumont, Texas:
- Offense:
- Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base; possession with intent to distribute cocaine base (Western District of Louisiana).
- Violation of supervised release (Eastern District of Texas).
- Production of counterfeit access devices (Eastern District of Texas).
- Sentence
- 151 months of imprisonment, eight-year term of supervised release, $5,000 fine (Nov. 28, 2011); amended to 121 months of imprisonment, eight-year term of supervised release, $5,000 fine (Feb. 9, 2018).
- 24 months of imprisonment (Jan. 5, 2012).
- 24 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release, $2,516 restitution (April 29, 2015). Prison sentences and terms of supervised release in each case to run consecutively.
- Commutation grant: Sentences commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in-home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the eight and three-year terms of supervised release, and the unpaid remainders, if any, of the $5,000 fine and $2,516 restitution.
Brittany Krambeck from Fort Worth, Texas:
- Offense: Maintaining drug involved premises; structuring transactions to evade reporting requirements.
- Sentence: 220 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release.
- Commutation grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2024, leaving intact and in effect the three-year term of supervised release.
Rosamaria Lucero from New Braunfels, Texas:
- Offense: Possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, aiding and abetting.
- Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release.
- Commutation grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in-home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release.
Quang Nguyen from Houston, Texas:
- Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 1,000 or more marijuana plants.
- Sentence: 120 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release.
- Commutation grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in-home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release.
Aaron Ponce from Odessa, Texas:
- Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute, and to distribute a controlled substance, 50 grams or more of actual methamphetamine.
- Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release.
- Commutation grant: Sentence commuted to expire on Aug. 24, 2022, leaving intact and in effect the 10-year term of supervised release.
Rose Trujillo Rangel from Waco, Texas:
- Offense: Conspiracy to distribute cocaine, a schedule II-narcotic-drug-controlled substance.
- Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, three-year term of supervised release, $5,000 fine.
- Commutation grant: Sentence commuted to expire on Aug. 24, 2022, leaving intact and in effect the three-year term of supervised release and the unpaid remainder, if any, of the $5,000 fine.
Alejandro Reyna from Brownsville, Texas:
- Offense: Importation of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine.
- Sentence: 210 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release, $2,000 fine (Jan. 16, 2014); amended to 180 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release, $2,000 fine.
- Commutation grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in-home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release and the unpaid remainder, if any, of the $2,000 fine.
Fermin Serna from Rio Grande City, Texas:
- Offense: Conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 1,000 kilograms of marijuana, a schedule I controlled substance.
- Sentence: 240 months of imprisonment, 10-year term of supervised release.
- Commutation grant: Sentence commuted to expire on Aug. 24, 2022, leaving intact and in effect the 10-year term of supervised release.
James Darrell Walker from Lubbock, Texas:
- Offense: Distribution of and possession with intent to distribute cocaine base.
- Sentence: 327 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release; amended to 262 months of imprisonment, five-year term of supervised release.
- Commutation grant: Sentence commuted to expire on April 26, 2023, with the remainder to be served in-home confinement, leaving intact and in effect the five-year term of supervised release.
These are just some of the sentences that were commuted by the president. President Biden commuted the sentences of a total of 75 people Tuesday.
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