U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 2011

United States v. Rafael De La Torre

United States v. Rafael De La Torre
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit · Decided August 17, 2011 · Thomas, Silverman, Clifton
447 F. App'x 851

United States v. Rafael De La Torre

Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Rafael Flores de la Torre appeals from the 37-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for illegal reentry after deportation, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1826. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.

Flores contends that the district court procedurally erred when it determined that his motive for reentering the country was not a basis for a lower sentence. This contention lacks merit as the record reflects that the district court considered Flores’s motive for reentry as part of its analysis of the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) sentencing factors, but found the circumstances insufficient to justify a lower sentence. See United States v. Carty, 520 F.3d 984, 993 (9th Cir. 2008) (en banc).

Flores, citing United States v. Amezcua-Vasquez, 567 F.3d 1050, 1054-56 (9th Cir. 2009), also contends that his sentence is substantively unreasonable due to the age of his prior felony conviction that triggered a 16-level enhancement. The district court considered Flores’s argument in this regard, and reduced his criminal history category from level III to level I after concluding that it was overstated, but found the circumstances insufficient to warrant a further reduction below the adjusted Guidelines range. The sentence is substantively reasonable in light of the totality of the circumstances and the sentencing factors set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51, 128 S.Ct. 586, 169 L.Ed.2d 445 (2007); see also United States v. Valencia-Barragan, 608 F.3d 1103, 1108-09 (9th Cir. 2010) (emphasizing the limited scope of the holding in Amezcuar-Vasquez).

AFFIRMED.

**

This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.

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