Court Opinion

ID: 9353896
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-01-13 01:00:21.312739+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:09:35.019042
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-20303         Document: 00516608633             Page: 1      Date Filed: 01/12/2023

              United States Court of Appeals
                   for the Fifth Circuit
                                      ____________
                                                                      United States Court of Appeals
                                                                               Fifth Circuit
                                       No. 22-20303
                                                                             FILED
                                     Summary Calendar
                                                                      January 12, 2023
                                     ____________
                                                                        Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                 Clerk

                                                                      Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                             versus

   Monte Drayton,

                                               Defendant—Appellant.
                      ______________________________

                      Appeal from the United States District Court
                          for the Southern District of Texas
                               USDC No. 4:21-CR-594-1
                      ______________________________

   Before Higginbotham, Graves, and Ho, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam:*
          Monte Drayton appeals the 30-month term of imprisonment imposed
   following his guilty plea convictions for one count of stealing or reproducing
   keys or locks and one count of theft or receipt of stolen mail matter. He
   challenges only the substantive reasonableness of his sentence, arguing that

          _____________________
          *
              This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-20303      Document: 00516608633          Page: 2    Date Filed: 01/12/2023

                                    No. 22-20303

   it is greater than necessary to satisfy the sentencing goals of 18 U.S.C.
   § 3553(a).
          Our review is for abuse of discretion. See Gall v. United States, 552
   U.S. 38, 51 (2007).       When reviewing a non-guidelines sentence for
   substantive reasonableness, we consider “the totality of the circumstances,
   including the extent of any variance from the Guidelines range, to determine
   whether, as a matter of substance, the sentencing factors in section 3553(a)
   support the sentence.” United States v. Gerezano-Rosales, 692 F.3d 393, 400
   (5th Cir. 2012) (internal quotation marks and citations omitted). We “give
   due deference to the district court’s decision that the § 3553(a) factors, on a
   whole, justify the extent of the variance.” Id. at 401 (internal quotation marks
   and citation omitted).
          The district court made an individualized assessment and concluded
   that the 12-to-18-month guidelines range did not adequately take into account
   the § 3553(a) factors. Although Drayton asserts that too much weight was
   given to his criminal history, “the sentencing court is free to conclude that
   the applicable Guidelines range gives too much or too little weight to one or
   more factors, and may adjust the sentence accordingly under § 3553(a).”
   United States v. Lopez-Velasquez, 526 F.3d 804, 807 (5th Cir. 2008) (internal
   quotation marks and citation omitted). Drayton’s arguments amount to a
   disagreement with the district court’s weighing of the sentencing factors,
   which “is not a sufficient ground for reversal.” United States v. Malone, 828
   F.3d 331, 342 (5th Cir. 2016). Although Drayton’s 30-month term of
   imprisonment is 12 months greater than the top of the guidelines range, we
   have upheld much greater variances. See, e.g., United States v. Key, 599 F.3d
   469, 475-76 (5th Cir. 2010); United States v. Brantley, 537 F.3d 347, 348-50
   (5th Cir. 2008). Based on the totality of the circumstances, including the
   significant deference that is given to the district court’s consideration of the

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Case: 22-20303     Document: 00516608633          Page: 3   Date Filed: 01/12/2023

                                   No. 22-20303

   § 3553(a) factors, Drayton’s sentence is not substantively unreasonable. See
   Gerezano-Rosales, 692 F.3d at 400-01.
         The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.

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