Court Opinion

ID: 9387456
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-04-18 00:00:32.521066+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:18:13.565364
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-50134        Document: 00516714667             Page: 1      Date Filed: 04/17/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit
                                     ____________
                                                                              United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                       Fifth Circuit
                                      No. 22-50134
                                    Summary Calendar                                 FILED
                                    ____________                                 April 17, 2023
                                                                                Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                         Clerk

                                                                     Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                            versus

   Jennifer Ann Estrella,

                                              Defendant—Appellant.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                          for the Western District of Texas
                               USDC No. 7:21-CR-8-1
                     ______________________________

   Before King, Higginson, and Willett, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
         Jennifer Ann Estrella pleaded guilty to one count of possessing with
   intent to distribute five grams or more of actual methamphetamine. Estrella
   was sentenced within the applicable guidelines range to 98 months of
   imprisonment. On appeal, she contends that the district court erred in
   holding her accountable for 113.4 grams of actual methamphetamine for

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-50134      Document: 00516714667           Page: 2    Date Filed: 04/17/2023

                                     No. 22-50134

   sentencing purposes based on an individual’s statement to law enforcement
   about purchasing methamphetamine from Estrella.
          When a defendant, like Estrella, is convicted of a drug offense, her
   base offense level is determined based on the amount of drugs for which she
   is directly responsible and the amount that can be attributed to her as relevant
   conduct. United States v. Cooper, 274 F.3d 230, 238 (5th Cir. 2001). Relevant
   conduct includes all acts and omissions of the defendant that were part of the
   same course of conduct as the offense of conviction.                   U.S.S.G.
   § 1B1.3(a)(1)(A); § 1B1.3(a)(2). We review this issue for clear error. United
   States v. Barfield, 941 F.3d 757, 761 (5th Cir. 2019); United States v.
   Betancourt, 422 F.3d 240, 247 (5th Cir. 2005).
          The district court could plausibly extrapolate from the evidence in the
   record that the statements to law enforcement, namely the number of sales
   and the quantity of actual methamphetamine purchased from Estrella, were
   sufficiently reliable to support the quantity of drugs attributable to her. See
   United States v. Dinh, 920 F.3d 307, 313 (5th Cir. 2019). We defer to a district
   court’s credibility determination. See United States v. Juarez-Duarte, 513
   F.3d 204, 208 (5th Cir. 2008). Thus, we conclude that the district court’s
   finding was plausible in light of the record as a whole and that the court did
   not clearly err in attributing to Estrella for sentencing purposes at least 136.6
   grams of actual methamphetamine, which included 113.4 grams in purchases
   from Estrella. See Betancourt, 422 F.3d at 246.
          AFFIRMED.

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