Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-04-03795/USCOURTS-ca8-04-03795-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Jose Antonio Gonzalez
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 04-3795

___________

United States of America, *

*

Appellee, *

* Appeal from the United States

v. * District Court for the

* District of Nebraska.

Jose Antonio Gonzalez, *

* [UNPUBLISHED]

Appellant. *

___________

Submitted: December 22, 2005

Filed: January 6, 2006

___________

Before MELLOY, HANSEN, and GRUENDER, Circuit Judges.

___________

PER CURIAM.

Jose Antonio Gonzalez appeals the sentence the district court imposed after he

pleaded guilty to conspiring to forge endorsements and signatures on United States

Treasury checks with the intent to defraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 371 and 510.

Gonzalez objected to a U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(b) role enhancement, arguing that he was

not a manager or supervisor, and that the enhancement was barred by Blakely v.

Washington, 542 U.S. 296 (2004), and Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000).

The district court overruled the objection; calculated a Guidelines imprisonment

range of 33-41 months (which reflected the role enhancement, as well as other

enhancements based on stipulated facts); and imposed a sentence of 33 months in

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prison and 3 years supervised release. On appeal, Gonzalez renews his arguments

against the role enhancement.

The Blakely challenge to the sentence is valid, because the district court erred

in sentencing Gonzalez based on judge-found facts, in violation of the Sixth

Amendment, under a mandatory Guidelines scheme, see United States v. Booker, 125

S. Ct. 738, 756-57 (2005) (holding Guidelines to be only advisory), and Gonzalez

preserved this issue at sentencing, see United States v. Pirani, 406 F.3d 543, 549 (8th

Cir.) (en banc) (Booker error preserved by, inter alia, raising Blakely), cert. denied,

126 S. Ct. 266 (2005). We conclude the government did not meet its burden of

proving that the error was harmless. See United States v. Mendoza-Mesa, 421 F.3d

671, 673 (8th Cir. 2005) (without more, a bottom-of-the-range sentence does not

show harmless error when there is a preserved Sixth Amendment violation). Thus,

we must remand for the district court to fashion a post-Booker sentence, utilizing

advisory Guidelines. See Booker, 125 S. Ct. at 765-66.

As to Gonzalez’s other argument, which will be relevant on remand, we

conclude the district court did not err in finding that Gonzalez acted as a manager or

supervisor in a conspiracy involving five or more participants. See United States v.

Burling, 420 F.3d 745, 749 (8th Cir. 2005) (standard of review). Evidence showed

that Gonzalez recruited a coconspirator, drove her and two other coconspirators from

Texas to Nebraska and then to various check-cashing establishments, and was the

communication link to the leader of the conspiracy. Cf. United States v. Shallal, 410

F.3d 434, 437 (8th Cir. 2005) (finding no error in imposition of § 3B1.1(b)

enhancement where defendant, in addition to taking a larger share of proceeds,

recruited coconspirator, gave him directions, monitored his progress, and introduced

him to other conspirators); United States v. Tran, 122 F.3d 670, 674 (8th Cir. 1997)

(enhancement under § 3B1.1(b) to reflect defendant’s role as manager or supervisor

in conspiracy to traffic in counterfeit checks was warranted, given evidence that

defendant recruited driver and persons to pass checks at banks, and that, while

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defendant did not appear to cash checks, he was always around house from which

conspiracy was operated).

Accordingly, we remand for resentencing.

______________________________

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