United States Court of Appeals

for the Fifth Circuit

No. 21-40707

Summary Calendar

United States of America, 

Plaintiff—Appellee,

versus

Romulo Chapa, 

Defendant—Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the Southern District of Texas

USDC No. 7:18-CR-960-9

Before Stewart, Haynes, and Oldham, Circuit Judges.

Per Curiam:*

Romulo Chapa pleaded guilty to money laundering, in violation of 18 

U.S.C. § 1956(a)(2)(A), and was sentenced to 151 months of imprisonment. 

He appeals his sentence.

* Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 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opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited 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 Circuit Rule 47.5.4.

United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

FILED

August 5, 2022

Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk

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2

Chapa contends that the district court erred in finding the amount of 

cocaine for which he was responsible for purposes of sentencing. He asserts 

that the quantity finding in the presentence report (PSR) was not supported 

by specific credible evidence. He admits that he is responsible for the drug 

equivalent of the currency for which the district court found him accountable 

and conceded in the district court that he delivered loads of cocaine while he

actively participated in a drug trafficking organization. However, he asserts 

that the district court attributed too much weight to him.

We review the district court’s drug-quantity finding for clear error. 

United States v. Betancourt, 422 F.3d 240, 246 (5th Cir. 2005). None exists if 

the district court’s finding is plausible in light of the record as a whole. Id.

In light of the deference owed to the district court’s fact finding, see

United States v. Lucio, 985 F.3d 482, 486 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 142 S. Ct. 177 

(2021), Chapa has not shown that the drug-quantity finding was implausible 

in light of the record as a whole, see Betancourt, 422 F.3d at 246. The quantity 

finding was derived from an investigation by law enforcement, was in part 

corroborated by Chapa’s own version of the facts, and reflected, inter alia, 

quantity estimates given by cooperating sources who participated in the drug 

trafficking organization. The facts in the PSR were based on information that 

render recitations as to quantity reliable. See United States v. Kearby, 943 F.3d 

969, 974 (5th Cir. 2019); United States v. Fields, 932 F.3d 316, 320 (5th Cir. 

2019); United States v. Alford, 142 F.3d 825, 832 (5th Cir. 1998). Moreover, 

the quantity finding was based on conduct in which Chapa participated and 

properly was based on the sources’ estimates of the size of the loads that he

transported. See Alford, 142 F.3d at 832. The record plausibly supports that 

Chapa delivered loads equal to the amount in the PSR and establishes that 

the quantity determination, which was a conservative estimate, was based on 

information with some indicia of reliability. See Betancourt, 422 F.3d at 246; 

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United States v. Dickerson, 909 F.3d 118, 128 (5th Cir. 2018); see also Lucio, 

985 F.3d at 487.

Importantly, Chapa presented no evidence to support that he typically 

transported less cocaine than the PSR identified or to suggest that the facts 

in the PSR as to quantity were wrong. Because he did not show that the facts 

in the PSR concerning quantity were untrue or inaccurate, the district court 

could consider those facts as sufficiently reliable evidence of the amount of 

cocaine for which he was accountable. See United States v. Harris, 702 F.3d 

226, 230 (5th Cir. 2012). His mere objections were insufficient to rebut the 

PSR. See United States v. Parker, 133 F.3d 322, 329 (5th Cir. 1998). 

Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.

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