Court Opinion

ID: 9407877
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-07-10 18:00:45.082069+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:20:40.579126
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-40143        Document: 00516814557             Page: 1      Date Filed: 07/10/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit                                              United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                              Fifth Circuit
                                     ____________
                                                                                            FILED
                                                                                        July 10, 2023
                                      No. 23-40143
                                    Summary Calendar                                   Lyle W. Cayce
                                    ____________                                            Clerk

   United States of America,

                                                                      Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                            versus

   Hector Yzaguirre,

                                              Defendant—Appellant.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                         for the Southern District of Texas
                              USDC No. 2:09-CR-971-1
                     ______________________________

   Before Higginbotham, Stewart, and Southwick, Circuit
   Judges.
   Per Curiam:*
         Hector Yzaguirre, federal prisoner # 64898-279, appeals the denial of
   his motion for sentence reduction based on Amendment 782 to the
   Sentencing Guidelines, filed pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(2). We review

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-40143      Document: 00516814557          Page: 2   Date Filed: 07/10/2023

                                    No. 23-40143

   the denial of a § 3582(c)(2) motion for abuse of discretion. United States v.
   Henderson, 636 F.3d 713, 717 (5th Cir. 2011).
          Yzaguirre argues that the district court failed to take into
   consideration facts that would have shown that he was not a drug kingpin;
   that the district court should not have considered his beyond-15-year-old
   misdemeanor theft conviction, for which he received one year of probation;
   that the district court should have investigated the validity of his previous
   voluntary manslaughter conviction and considered that his actions had been
   the result of the aggressive actions of a high-level gang member; and that a
   reduction was warranted due to his participation in educational and
   vocational programs. He also contends that the district court failed to
   recognize its discretionary authority and that the district court committed
   plain error in denying the sentence reduction. In a supplemental brief,
   Yzaguirre argues additionally that the district court erred in determining that
   he committed the misdemeanor theft offense, that he trafficked
   methamphetamine, and that he distributed methamphetamine throughout
   South Texas. He also disputes the district court’s determination that his
   previous recidivism and the violence accompanying his past crimes indicated
   that his sentence was necessary to protect the public because he committed
   only one voluntary manslaughter offense that occurred in the heat of the
   moment.
          Although Yzaguirre challenges the district court’s § 3553(a)
   determination based on the district court’s assessment of the instant offense
   and his prior convictions, he did not make any arguments regarding the
   § 3553(a) factors in his § 3582(c)(2) motion, and we will not consider them
   for the first time on appeal. See United States v. Thompson, 984 F.3d 431, 432
   n.1 (5th Cir. 2021); Leverette v. Louisville Ladder Co., 183 F.3d 339, 342 (5th
   Cir. 1999). Additionally, the district court’s findings about the nature and
   circumstances of the offense and his history and characteristics are supported

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Case: 23-40143      Document: 00516814557            Page: 3    Date Filed: 07/10/2023

                                      No. 23-40143

   by the sentencing record, and Yzaguirre’s challenges to the district court’s
   findings at his original sentencing are not cognizable in a § 3582(c)(2) motion.
   See United States v. Evans, 587 F.3d 667, 674 (5th Cir. 2009). Moreover,
   Yzaguirre’s disagreement with the court’s weighing of the § 3553(a) factors
   is not a sound basis for reversal, and the record reflects that the district court
   gave due consideration to his § 3582(c)(2) motion and the applicable
   § 3553(a) factors. See § 3553(a)(1), (a)(2)(A)-(C); United States v. Chambliss,
   948 F.3d 691, 694 (5th Cir. 2020) (§ 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) case).
          Although Yzaguirre also contends both that the district court failed to
   recognize its discretionary authority and that the plain error standard of
   review is applicable, there is no evidence in the record that the district court
   did not view its authority in weighing the § 3553(a) factors as discretionary,
   and only the abuse-of-discretion standard of review is applicable on appeal.
   See Henderson, 636 F.3d at 717. We also decline to issue a stay of the district
   court’s order or provide a sentence reduction sua sponte, as requested by
   Yzaguirre. See § 3582(c); United States v. Cooper, 996 F.3d 283, 289 (5th Cir.
   2021) (§ 3582(c)(1)(A)(i) case).
          In light of the foregoing, Yzaguirre has not demonstrated an abuse of
   discretion, see Henderson, 636 F.3d at 717, and the district court’s decision is
   AFFIRMED. Yzaguirre’s motion to file a supplemental brief is DENIED
   as moot.

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