Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-07-02788/USCOURTS-ca8-07-02788-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
United States
Appellee
Soledad Ybarra
Appellant

Document Text:

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 07-2788

___________

United States of America, *

*

Plaintiff - Appellee, *

* Appeal from the United States

v. * District Court for the

* District of North Dakota.

Soledad Ybarra, also known as *

Chole, * [UNPUBLISHED]

*

Defendant - Appellant. *

___________

Submitted: March 13, 2008

Filed: May 6, 2008

___________

Before WOLLMAN, HANSEN, and MELLOY, Circuit Judges.

___________

PER CURIAM.

In a second superceding indictment, Soledad Ybarra was charged with three

counts: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and conspiracy to distribute

methamphetamine, cocaine, and marijuana in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2 and 21 U.S.C.

§ 841(a)(1); money laundering and conspiracy to conceal and disguise the nature,

location, ownership, and control of proceeds of an unlawful activity in violation of 18

U.S.C. § 1956(h); and conspiracy to unlawfully use communication facilities in

violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 843(b), 843(d), and 846. Ybarra pled guilty to the second

Appellate Case: 07-2788 Page: 1 Date Filed: 05/06/2008 Entry ID: 3430631
1

The Honorable Ralph R. Erickson, United States District Judge for the District

of North Dakota.

-2-

and third counts, and the government dismissed the first count. The district court1

sentenced Ybarra to 114 months of imprisonment on count two and a concurrent 48

months on count three. Ybarra appeals, arguing that the district court erred by

sentencing her as a member of the drug conspiracy, erred in calculating her base

offense level, and erred by denying her a minor role or minimal participant reduction.

We find Ybarra’s arguments to be without merit. The laundered funds came

from the proceeds of the drug conspiracy, and the district court did not err in

computing Ybarra’s laundering sentence based upon her membership in the drug

conspiracy. See U.S.S.G. § 2S1.1(a)(1) (stating the base offense level for money

laundering is the offense level for the underlying offense if the defendant committed

the underlying offense and the offense level for that offense can be determined).

There was more than sufficient evidence that Ybarra was a member of the drug

conspiracy and was accountable for the amount of drugs that the district court

determined. The district court did not clearly err in denying her a mitigating role

reduction as the district court determined she lacked credibility in denying

involvement in the drug conspiracy and money laundering.

We affirm the sentence imposed by the district court in accordance with Eighth

Circuit Rule of Appellate Procedure 47B.

______________________________

Appellate Case: 07-2788 Page: 2 Date Filed: 05/06/2008 Entry ID: 3430631