UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee,

v. JESUS FRANCISCO ROMERO-GONZALEZ, No. 00-4045 a/k/a Jose E. Romero, a/k/a Jesus Gonzales, a/k/a Juan Pablo Martinez, Defendant-Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, at Alexandria. Gerald Bruce Lee, District Judge. (CR-99-244) Submitted: July 31, 2000 Decided: August 11, 2000 Before WILLIAMS and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge.

_________________________________________________________________ Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

_________________________________________________________________ COUNSEL Matthew A. Wartel, SHERMAN, MEEHAN, CURTIN & AIN, Washington, D.C., for Appellant. Helen F. Fahey, United StatesAttorney, John T. Morton, Assistant United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee.

_________________________________________________________________Unpublished opinions are not binding pr ecedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c).

_________________________________________________________________ OPINION PER CURIAM: Jesus Romero-Gonzalez was convicted pursuant to his guilty pleaof illegally re-entering the United States after being deported following a conviction for an aggravated felony. On appeal, he alleges thatthe district court erroneously refused to grant his motions for downward departure based on extraordinary rehabilitative efforts and precharge delay. Finding no reversible error, we affirm. The basic facts of this case are undisputed. Romero-Gonzalez, a citizen of El Salvador, first entered the United States in 1982. He was arrested twice in 1992 in Texas on drug charges, but he fled before he could be prosecuted. He made his way to the District of Columbia, where he was again arrested twice on drug charges, but fled prior to trial. Texas authorities apprehended Romero-Gonzalez in 1993, and he was tried on the earlier Texas drug charges and deported. Romero-Gonzalez illegally re-entered the United States in 1995, and he was ultimately apprehended by D.C. police and tried on the earlier D.C. drug charges. Prior to sentencing in 1996, D.C. policenotified the INS that Romero-Gonzalez was in their custody. Nevertheless, the INS did not interview him until 1998, and RomeroGonzalez admitted during the interview that he had illegally reentered the United States. However, the Government did not indict him until 1999, after he completed his D.C. sentence.It is well-settled that a district court's decision denying a downward departure is not reviewable unless the court believed it lacked the authority to depart. See United States v. Bayerle , 898 F.2d 28, 30-31 (4th Cir. 1990). Here, we find that the district court properly recognized its authority to grant Romero-Gonzalez's motions under Koon v. United States , 518 U.S. 81 (1996), and United States v. Brock , 108 F.3d 31 (4th Cir. 1997), but declined to do so under the facts of this case.
2We therefore affirm Romero-Gonzalez's sentence. We dispensewith oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court, and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED 3