N O T FO R PUB L ICAT IO N UNITED STATES C OUR T OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH C IR C UIT
UNITED STATES OF AM ERIC A,

Pla i ntiff-Appe lle e , v. JOSE M ANUEL AYALA-VENTUR A, a .k.a . Jose Ay a la -Ve ntura ,

De fe nda nt-Appe l la

nt. No. 15-50395

D.C . No. 3:15-c r-00134-JAH
M EM O R ANDUM *

Appe a l from

the Unite d

Stat e s Distric t C ourt for the Southe rn Distric t of C a lifornia J ohn A. Houston, Distric

t Judge , Pre siding A rgue d a nd Subm itte d

August 29, 2016 Pa sa de n a , C a l ifornia B e fore : TASHIM A , SILVER M AN, a nd WATFORD, C irc uit Judge s. Jose M anue l Ay a l a -Ve ntura a ppe a ls from

the distric t c ourt’ s judgm e nt a nd
c ha lle nge s his c onvic tion a nd the 100-m onth se nte nc e im pose d for im

porta tion of
m e tha m phe tam ine , in viola

tion of 21 U.S.C . §§ 952 a nd 960. W e have jurisdic tion unde r 28 U.S.C . § 1291, a n d we a ffirm
. 

# FIL ED SEP 14 2016 M OLLY C. DW Y ER, CLERK U
. S
. CO URT O F APPEALS

* This disposition is not a ppropria te for public at ion a

nd is not pre c e de nt e xc e pt a s provide d

by Ninth C irc uit R

ule 36-3.Ay a la -Ve ntura c onte nds tha

t the distric t c ourt a

buse d its disc re tion by pre c luding him

from introduc ing a

c om pute r sc re e n

shot of a photogra ph from Fa c e book for la c k of a

uthe ntic ation. W e re vie w for a b use of disc re tion, se eUnite d State s v . Tank , 200 F.3d 627, 630 (9th C ir. 2000), but we ne e d not de c ide whe the r the d istric t c o urt prope rly e x c lude d the e vide nc e . Eve n if the founda tion for the photo should ha

ve be e n de e m e d suffic ie nt, a ny e rror in susta ining theobje c tion to it wa s ha rm le ss. The jury re c e ive d va rious othe r pie c e s of e vide nc e that som e one nam e d Je sus Nove ron onc e live d at, or wa s a s soc iate d with, thea ddre ss in que stion. Se eUnite d State s v . Pine da-Dov al , 614 F.3d 1019, 1034 (9th C ir. 2010).
Ay a la -Ve ntura

ne xt c onte nds tha

t the distric t c ourt a

buse d its disc re tion by pre c luding him

from e lic iting te stim ony

a bout a n out-of-c ourt sta

te m e nt. Spe c ific a lly , he argue s tha t the distric t c ourt should ha v e pe rm i tte d him to e lic it te stim ony from his inve stiga

tor tha t, upon theinve stiga

t or’ s visit to the

re side nc e at 715 South Olive

Stre e t , a wom a n a nswe re d the door a

nd sta te d tha t Je sus Nove ron no longe r live d the re . W e re v ie w for a buse of disc re tion, U

nite d State

s v . Torre s , 794 F.3d 1053, 1059 (9th C ir. 2015), c e rt . de nie d , 136 S. C t. 2005 (2016), a nd find
none . Eve n c re diting Ay a la -Ve ntura ’ s a rgum e nt tha

t this sta te m e nt wa s offe re d sole ly to show a

“ link” be t

we e n Nove ron a

nd the re s ide nc e , the re c ord re fle c ts tha t
2the s tat e m e nt wa s offe re d to prove the truth of them atte r a sse rte d. Ac c ordingly ,

the d istric t c o urt did not a buse its disc re tion by

e xc luding it a s he arsa

y . Se e Fe d. R . Evid. 801(c ), 802. Ay a la -Ve ntura

fina l ly c onte nds tha

t the distric t c ourt proc e dura lly e rre d by fa iling to e xpla in a de quate ly its re a sons for de ny ing his re que st for a m i nor role
a djustm e nt pursua

nt to U.S.S.G. § 3B 1.2. W e re vie w for pla i n e rror, se eUnite d State s v . Vale nc ia-Barragan , 608 F.3d 1103, 1108 (9th C ir. 2010), a nd find none
. As Ay a la -Ve ntura

c onc e de d in thedistric t c ourt, there c ord is de void of inform at ion re ga

rding his role

in the offe nse . It is, there fore , a ppa re nt from the
re c o rd why

the distric t c ourt de te rm ine d tha t Ay a la -Ve ntura ha d fa ile d to m e e t his burde n . Se eUnite d

State s v . C arty , 520 F.3d 984, 992 (9th C ir. 2008) (e n ba nc ) (a de quat e e xpla

nation m ay

be infe rre d from the re c ord a s a whole ); Unite d State

s
v . C antre ll , 433 F.3d 1269, 1282 (9th C ir. 2006) (de fe n da nt be ars the burde n of proving tha

t he is e ntitle d to a

m inor role a djustm e nt). AFFIRM E D.

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