Reported / Citable
Background
Isa Lomax pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a prohibited person, a Class C felony. In October 2023, Judge Marcia A. Crone sentenced him to 37 months in prison and three years of supervised release, with standard and special conditions including mental-health treatment and substance-abuse aftercare.
Lomax began supervised release on May 30, 2025. Probation later filed a petition alleging seven violations, including new criminal conduct, controlled-substance violations, reporting and employment failures, prohibited association, and failure to report law-enforcement contact.
The Court’s Holding
At the August 5, 2026 revocation hearing, Lomax admitted the allegation that he unlawfully used a controlled substance. Magistrate Judge Christine L. Stetson found that admission established a supervised-release violation by a preponderance of the evidence.
The magistrate judge recommended that the district court grant the petition, revoke Lomax’s supervised release, and impose eight months in prison followed by one year of supervised release. The recommended prison term falls within the applicable five-to-eleven-month Chapter 7 policy-statement range for a Grade C violation and criminal-history category III, and would run consecutively to any other imprisonment term. The parties waived objections and consented to the recommendation and proposed sentence.
Key Takeaways
- Lomax admitted unlawful controlled-substance use, establishing a Grade C supervised-release violation.
- The magistrate judge recommended eight months’ imprisonment and one additional year of supervised release.
- The recommendation, rather than a final district-court revocation order, was the action issued on August 5, 2026.
Why It Matters
The decision illustrates that a defendant’s admission to a single supervised-release violation can support revocation even when a petition alleges multiple violations. It also reflects the court’s use of the nonbinding Chapter 7 policy statements and the parties’ agreed revocation disposition in selecting a sentence within the advisory range.