Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-05-01236/USCOURTS-ca8-05-01236-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Humberto Rivera-Moreno
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

1

The Honorable Richard G. Kopf, United States District Judge for the District

of Nebraska.

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 05-1236

___________

United States of America, *

*

Appellee, *

* Appeal from the United States

v. * District Court for the

* District of Nebraska.

Humberto Rivera-Moreno, also known *

as Beto, also known as Erik * [UNPUBLISHED]

Moctezuma, also known as Erik * 

Moctezuma-Espindola, also known as *

Eduardo Rivera-Moreno, also known *

as Jose Chavez, *

*

Appellant. *

___________

Submitted: December 27, 2005 

Filed: January 10, 2006

___________

Before MELLOY, HANSEN, and GRUENDER, Circuit Judges.

___________

PER CURIAM.

Humberto Rivera-Moreno (Rivera) appeals the sentence the district court1

imposed after a jury found him guilty of conspiring to distribute and possess with

intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of cocaine, 500 grams or more of

Appellate Case: 05-1236 Page: 1 Date Filed: 01/10/2006 Entry ID: 1995191
-2-

methamphetamine, and 50 grams or more of cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C.

§§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1), 846; and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking

crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c). For reversal Rivera argues that his sentence

is excessive and not reasonable under the Fifth and Sixth Amendments, because the

“dramatic” reduction in drug quantity from that recommended by the presentence

report to that found by the district court at sentencing did not result in a corresponding

reduction in Rivera’s Sentencing Guidelines offense level. For the following reasons,

we affirm. 

We note that the 292-month prison term for the drug conspiracy does not

involve a Sixth Amendment violation under United States v. Booker, 125 S. Ct. 738,

756 (2005), because the district court considered only the drug quantities and role

adjustment found by the jury; and that the consecutive 60-month prison term for the

firearm offense was the minimum mandated by 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i). 

A sentence within the applicable Guidelines range is presumptively reasonable

and the burden is on the appellant to rebut that presumption. United States v. Lincoln,

413 F.3d 716, 717-18 (8th Cir. 2005). We conclude that Rivera's sentence is not

unreasonable: the district court correctly determined the Guidelines imprisonment

range for the conspiracy count based on the jury’s findings; chose a sentence at the

bottom of that range; and indicated the sentence was based on the court’s

consideration of 18 U.S.C.§ 3553(a)(2)(A) and (a)(2)(B). See Booker, 125 S. Ct. at

765-66 (standard of review; § 3553(a) will guide appellate courts in determining

whether sentence is unreasonable); Lincoln, 413 F.3d at 717-18. 

Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

______________________________

Appellate Case: 05-1236 Page: 2 Date Filed: 01/10/2006 Entry ID: 1995191