United States v. Juan Carlos Valenzuela

Valenzuela pled guilty to 28 counts of knowingly inducing aliens to enter the United States, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(iv) and 18 U.S.C. § 2. The applicable Guidelines range was 33 to 41 months’ imprisonment, but the district *841 court sentenced Valenzuela to the statutory maximum of 60 months’ imprisonment.

On appeal, Valenzuela argues that the sentence was not reasonable in light of the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors. In addition to his arguments concerning the substantive reasonableness of the sentence, Valenzuela more specifically asserts that, under § 3553(a)(6), the district court created an unwarranted sentencing disparity between himself and his co-defendant, who received a 33-month sentence.

After a careful consideration of the briefs, review of the record on appeal, and having heard oral argument in the matter, we are unable to conclude that the district court misapplied § 3553(a)(6). Nor are we able to conclude that the sentence Valenzuela received was otherwise unreasonable. Accordingly, we affirm.

AFFIRMED.