Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca4-07-04018/USCOURTS-ca4-07-04018-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Jose Manuel Molina
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 07-4018

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

JOSE MANUEL MOLINA,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle

District of North Carolina, at Durham. James A. Beaty, Jr., Chief

District Judge. (1:06-cr-0122-JAB)

Submitted: March 17, 2008 Decided: April 7, 2008

Before NIEMEYER, MICHAEL, and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Anna Aita, LAW OFFICES OF AITA & MURPHY, Glen Burnie, Maryland, for

Appellant. Anna Mills Wagoner, United States Attorney, Sandra J.

Hairston, Assistant United States Attorney, Greensboro, North

Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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*

Molina does not contest his conviction on appeal.

2

PER CURIAM:

Jose Molina pled guilty pursuant to a written plea

agreement to conspiracy to distribute five kilograms or more of

cocaine hydrochloride, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(b)(1)(A)

and 846 (2000). The district court sentenced Molina to the

statutory mandatory minimum of 120 months’ imprisonment, and Molina

timely appealed. Molina contends on appeal that the district

court’s imposition of the statutory minimum sentence was improper

because the court erroneously denied a sentencing reduction under

the “safety valve” provision.* See 18 U.S.C.A. § 1335(f) (West

2000 & Supp. 2007); U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual (“USSG”)

§ 5C1.2 (2005). We affirm.

A defendant is eligible for an offense level reduction

and a sentence below an otherwise applicable statutory minimum if

he meets all five requirements set forth in the applicable statute.

See United States v. Beltran-Ortiz, 91 F.3d 665, 667 (4th Cir.

1996). After permitting Molina to testify at the sentencing

hearing as a verbal proffer of all information and evidence

concerning his offenses, see 18 U.S.C.A. § 3353(f)(5) (West 2000 &

Supp. 2007); USSG § 5C1.2(a)(5), the court found portions of

Molina’s testimony were untruthful. We conclude this finding was

not clearly erroneous and the denial of a safety valve reduction

below the statutory minimum on this basis was proper.

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Accordingly, we affirm Molina’s sentence. We dispense

with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are

adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument

would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

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