Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-05-01094/USCOURTS-ca8-05-01094-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Fidel Javier Bencomo
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

1

The Honorable Ronald E. Longstaff, Chief Judge, United States District Court

for the Southern District of Iowa.

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 05-1094

___________

United States of America, *

*

Appellee, *

* Appeal from the United States

v. * District Court for the

* Southern District of Iowa.

Fidel Javier Bencomo, also known as *

Ramon Gardea, * [UNPUBLISHED]

*

Appellant. *

___________

Submitted: September 7, 2005

 Filed: September 13, 2005

___________

Before MELLOY, MAGILL, and GRUENDER, Circuit Judges.

___________

PER CURIAM.

Fidel Javier Bencomo appeals the statutory minimum sentence the district

court1

 imposed after he pleaded guilty to possessing with intent to distribute 100

kilograms or more of a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of

marijuana, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B). For reversal, he argues

that the district court erred in denying him “safety-valve” relief under 18 U.S.C.

§ 3553(f) and U.S.S.G. § 5C1.2. We affirm Bencomo’s sentence.

Appellate Case: 05-1094 Page: 1 Date Filed: 09/13/2005 Entry ID: 1951052
-2-

The district court did not clearly err in concluding that Bencomo failed to

satisfy his burden of demonstrating that he truthfully provided to the government all

of the information about his offense. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(5) (one requirement

for safety-valve relief is that defendant must truthfully provide all relevant

information about offense prior to sentencing); U.S.S.G. § 5C1.2(a)(5) (same).

Immediately after his arrest, Bencomo identified himself using a false name, and

during his proffer interview, he provided names to identify the two persons who

allegedly recruited him to transport marijuana that were different than the two names

that he had given after his arrest. Further, neither those persons, nor the person whom

Bencomo identified as the individual slated to receive the marijuana shipment that

Bencomo had been carrying, could be found on any database, and other information

indicated that someone whom Bencomo did not mention during his proffer interview

had been involved in the shipment. See United States v. Alvarado-Rivera, 412 F.3d

942, 947-48 (8th Cir. 2005) (en banc) (defendants have burden to show that they met

each requirement for safety-valve relief; in assessing truthfulness of safety-valve

proffer, district court may draw reasonable inferences from evidence).

Accordingly, we affirm.

______________________________

Appellate Case: 05-1094 Page: 2 Date Filed: 09/13/2005 Entry ID: 1951052