Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca5-19-10300/USCOURTS-ca5-19-10300-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Javier Lopez-Garcia
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 19-10300

Summary Calendar

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee

v.

JAVIER LOPEZ-GARCIA,

Defendant-Appellant

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Northern District of Texas

USDC No. 3:18-CR-342-1

Before SMITH, DENNIS, and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:*

Javier Lopez-Garcia appeals the sentence imposed on his conviction of 

illegal reentry into the United States. The district court varied upward from 

the guidelines range and sentenced Lopez-Garcia to 60 months of 

imprisonment, an upward variance from his guidelines range of 24 to 30 

months. Lopez-Garcia argues the district court sentenced him based in part on 

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not 

be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH 

CIR. R. 47.5.4.

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

March 30, 2020

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

Case: 19-10300 Document: 00515364036 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/30/2020
No. 19-10300

2

a clearly erroneous finding that he attempted to evade arrest by driving his 

van into one of the vehicles of the arresting agents.

We review the district court’s factual findings for clear error. See United 

States v. Davis, 754 F.3d 278, 284 (5th Cir. 2014). “A factual finding is not 

clearly erroneous if it is plausible in light of the record as a whole.” Id. We give 

particular deference to credibility determinations in sentencing hearings. Id.

at 285 (citation omitted). Here, the district court’s conclusion that LopezGarcia attempted to evade arrest by reversing his van into one of the vehicles 

of the arresting agents was supported by ICE and DHS records describing the 

circumstances of the collision. The district court also questioned Lopez-Garcia 

at sentencing about his contention that he moved his van in order to avoid 

another approaching law-enforcement vehicle. In light of all the evidence, 

including the testimony, the district court found that Lopez-Garcia was 

attempting to evade arrest.

Considering the same evidence, we conclude Lopez-Garcia has not shown 

that the district court clearly erred.

AFFIRMED.

Case: 19-10300 Document: 00515364036 Page: 2 Date Filed: 03/30/2020