UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 16-4255

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

 Plaintiff – Appellee,

v.

GEOFFREY NNABUGO NWAFOR,

 Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of 

Maryland, at Baltimore. James K. Bredar, District Judge. 

(1:15-cr-00547-JKB-1)

Submitted: November 17, 2016 Decided: November 21, 2016

Before GREGORY, Chief Judge, and MOTZ and TRAXLER, Circuit 

Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

James Wyda, Federal Public Defender, Sapna Mirchandani, OFFICE 

OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Greenbelt, Maryland, for 

Appellant. Rod J. Rosenstein, United States Attorney, Lauren E. 

Perry, Special Assistant United States Attorney, Baltimore, 

Maryland, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
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PER CURIAM:

Geoffrey Nwafor appeals from the 28-month sentence imposed 

after he pleaded guilty to illegal reentry by a deported alien, 

in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) (2012). Nwafor argues that 

his sentence is procedurally and substantively unreasonable. 

Finding no error, we affirm.

Nwafor contends that his sentence is procedurally 

unreasonable because the district court did not adequately 

consider a sentencing amendment that was awaiting Congressional 

approval and his request for a downward variance sentence. We 

review a sentence for reasonableness, applying an abuse of 

discretion standard. Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 46 

(2007). The court first reviews for significant procedural 

error, and if the sentence is free from such error, it then

considers substantive reasonableness. Id. at 51. Procedural 

error includes improperly calculating the Sentencing Guidelines 

range, treating the Guidelines range as mandatory, failing to 

consider the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) (2012) factors, and failing to 

adequately explain the selected sentence. Id. To adequately 

explain the sentence, the district court must make an 

“individualized assessment” by applying the relevant § 3553(a) 

factors to the case’s specific circumstances. United States v. 

Carter, 564 F.3d 325, 328 (4th Cir. 2009). The individualized 
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assessment need not be elaborate or lengthy, but it must be 

adequate to allow meaningful appellate review. Id. at 330. 

The court considered the proposed amendment, specifically 

stated so on the record, and said that it was aware that the 

amendment would reduce the sentencing exposure, but that the 

sentence was based on Nwafor’s prior conviction and his conduct 

when he returned to the United States, including identity theft 

and fraudulent receipt of government-funded benefits. Nwafor 

suggests that the court “robotically ticked” through the 

§ 3553(a) factors and contends that the court did not consider 

his arguments for a downward variance. His claims are 

contradicted by the sentencing transcript. The court considered 

Nwafor’s request, but imposed the 28-month sentence, citing 

Nwafor’s prior aggravated drug felony offense, the identity 

theft once he reentered unlawfully, and the need for deterrence.

“Any sentence that is within or below a properly calculated 

Guidelines range is presumptively [substantively] reasonable. 

Such a presumption can only be rebutted by showing that the 

sentence is unreasonable when measured against the 18 U.S.C. 

§ 3553(a) factors.” United States v. Louthian, 756 F.3d 295, 

306 (4th Cir. 2014) (citations omitted). Nwafor posits that his 

sentence was substantively unreasonable because it is higher 

than it would have been had the proposed amendment been applied. 

This argument is not sufficient to rebut the presumption. 
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Nwafor presents no other evidence to rebut the presumption of 

reasonableness applicable to his properly calculated 

within-Guidelines sentence.

Accordingly, we affirm the judgment. We dispense with oral 

argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately 

presented in the materials before this court and argument would 

not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED