IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT

No. 16-40022

Summary Calendar

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee

v.

JOSE JAVIER VILLAFRANCA,

Defendant-Appellant

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Southern District of Texas

Before JOLLY, SMITH, and GRAVES, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:

Jose Javier Villafranca appeals his 57-month sentence following his jurytrial conviction for conspiring to transport and transporting undocumented 

aliens within the United States for financial gain, in violation of 8 U.S.C. 

§ 1324(a)(1)(A)(ii), (v)(I) & (B)(i). Villafranca asserts that the district court 

clearly erred in applying the special skill enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.3 

based on his possession of a commercial driver’s license. Because there is no 

constitutional right to hybrid representation on appeal, see United States v. 

Ogbonna, 184 F.3d 447, 449 & n.1 (5th Cir. 1999), Villafranca’s pro se letter 

filed after the close of briefing is not considered herein. 

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

December 1, 2016

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

 Case: 16-40022 Document: 00513779769 Page: 1 Date Filed: 12/01/2016
No. 16-40022

2

Section 3B1.3 provides for a two-level upward adjustment if the 

defendant used a special skill in a manner that significantly facilitated the 

commission or concealment of the offense. We have held that the ability to 

drive a tractor trailer truck as evidenced by the possession of a commercial 

driver’s license constitutes a special skill for purposes of § 3B1.3. See United 

States v. Gonzalez, 627 F. App’x 381, 382 (5th Cir 2015); United States v. 

Ordonez, 334 F. App’x 619, 624 (5th Cir. 2009).1 While merely persuasive, see 

Ballard v. Burton, 444 F.3d 391, 401 & n.7 (5th Cir. 2006), our unpublished 

decisions are consistent with the decisions of other circuits on this issue. See, 

e.g., United States v. Berry, 717 F.3d 823, 834-35 (10th Cir. 2013); United States 

v. Martinez, 509 F. App’x 889, 894 (11th Cir. 2013); United States v. Vasallo, 

518 F. App’x 147, 149 (4th Cir. 2013); United States v. Smith, 332 F.3d 455, 

458-59 (7th Cir. 2003); United States v. Mendoza, 78 F.3d 460, 465 (9th Cir. 

1996).

Furthermore, in Gonzalez, 627 F. App’x at 382, we concluded that the 

defendant’s commercial driver’s license and years of truck-driving experience 

significantly facilitated his commission of the offense of transporting 

undocumented aliens because, without those special skills, he would have been 

unable to tow the tractors in which the aliens were hidden. As we explained 

in United States v. Gill, 642 F. App’x 323, 326 (5th Cir. 2016), by carrying the 

aliens in the truck’s trailer, the defendant “gave the appearance that he was 

 

1 Although both Gonzalez and Ordonez refer to this skill merely as “possession” of a 

commercial driver’s license (“CDL”), their analysis makes it clear that possession of a CDL is 

shorthand for the knowledge and ability to drive a tractor trailer truck, evinced by the 

legitimate acquisition of a CDL. See Gonzalez, 627 F. App’x at 382 (“As the district court 

determined, Gonzalez not only possessed a commercial driver’s license but also had a 

particular ability to drive a truck towing two additional tractors.”); Ordonez, 334 F. App’x at 

624 (“We have never directly addressed the issue of whether a CDL may constitute a ‘special 

skill,’ but other courts have determined that a special skill enhancement based on the ability 

to drive a tractor trailer truck may be appropriate.”).

 Case: 16-40022 Document: 00513779769 Page: 2 Date Filed: 12/01/2016
No. 16-40022

3

hauling a legitimate load and made it much more difficult to identify the 

aliens.” The record showed that Villafranca, who had fifteen years of 

commercial truck-driving experience, acted as a licensed truck driver 

purporting to carry a legitimate load through a checkpoint on one of the 

nation’s busiest corridors where there are thousands of other tractor-trailers. 

Accordingly, the district court did not clearly err in determining that 

Villafranca’s special skill of driving a tractor trailer truck significantly 

facilitated the commission of the offenses. See § 3B1.3; United States v. Pruett, 

681 F.3d 232, 248 (5th Cir. 2012). The judgment of the district court is 

AFFIRMED.

 Case: 16-40022 Document: 00513779769 Page: 3 Date Filed: 12/01/2016