Court Opinion

ID: 9397310
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-05-25 00:00:30.338684+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:19:23.433893
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-30527        Document: 00516763057             Page: 1      Date Filed: 05/24/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit
                                     ____________
                                                                               United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                        Fifth Circuit
                                      No. 22-30527
                                    Summary Calendar                                   FILED
                                    ____________                                     May 24, 2023
                                                                                 Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                          Clerk

                                                                      Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                            versus

   Frederick C. Walker,

                                              Defendant—Appellant.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                        for the Western District of Louisiana
                              USDC No. 5:21-CR-162-1
                     ______________________________

   Before King, Higginson, and Willett, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
         Frederick C. Walker pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute and
   possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine. He received a below-
   Guidelines sentence of 292 months of imprisonment, to be followed by five
   years of supervised release. On appeal, Walker argues that the district court
   erred by applying several sentencing enhancements, and therefore that it

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-30527      Document: 00516763057          Page: 2    Date Filed: 05/24/2023

                                    No. 22-30527

   incorrectly calculated his offense level under the Sentencing Guidelines. He
   further contends that the sentence was substantively unreasonable.
          We review the district court’s interpretation or application of the
   Sentencing Guidelines de novo, and we review its factual findings for clear
   error. See United States v. Muniz, 803 F.3d 709, 712 (5th Cir. 2015).
          The record supports a two-level sentencing enhancement for
   possession of a firearm during the offense. See U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(1);
   United States v. King, 773 F.3d 48, 53 (5th Cir. 2014). Next, the district court
   could plausibly conclude from the findings in the presentence report (PSR)
   and from the record as a whole that distribution of methamphetamine was a
   primary purpose of Walker’s residence. Therefore, the court did not err by
   applying a two-level sentencing enhancement for maintaining a premises for
   the purpose of drug distribution. See U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(12); U.S.S.G.
   § 2D1.1, comment. (n.17); United States v. Guzman-Reyes, 853 F.3d 260, 263
   (5th Cir. 2017); see also United States v. Galicia, 983 F.3d 842, 844-45 (5th
   Cir. 2020). Further, the district court could reasonably infer from the
   findings in the PSR that Walker was a leader or organizer in the criminal
   activity. Therefore, the district court did not err by applying a four-level
   sentencing enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(a). See United States v.
   Caldwell, 448 F.3d 287, 293 (5th Cir. 2006). Walker presented no evidence
   rebutting the facts in the PSR as inaccurate or materially untrue. See United
   States v. Huerta, 182 F.3d 361, 364 (5th Cir. 1999).
          Finally, by advocating for a lower sentence in the district court,
   Walker preserved his challenge to his sentence, see Holguin-Hernandez v.
   United States, 140 S. Ct. 762, 766 (2020), and our review is for abuse of
   discretion, Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007). Because Walker’s
   sentence of 292 months of imprisonment is below the properly calculated
   Guidelines range, it is presumptively reasonable. See United States v. Barton,

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Case: 22-30527      Document: 00516763057          Page: 3      Date Filed: 05/24/2023

                                    No. 22-30527

   879 F.3d 595, 602 (5th Cir. 2018). We have rejected Walker’s argument that
   a below-Guidelines sentence is substantively unreasonable because the
   applicable methamphetamine Guideline lacks an empirical basis. See United
   States v. Lara, 23 F.4th 459, 486 (5th Cir. 2022), cert. denied, 142 S. Ct. 2790
   (2022); see also United States v. Duarte, 569 F.3d 528, 530-31 (5th Cir. 2009).
   In addition, he fails to rebut the presumption that his sentence is reasonable.
   United States v. Cooks, 589 F.3d 173, 186 (5th Cir. 2009).
          AFFIRMED.

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