Court Opinion

ID: 9385448
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-04-06 18:00:48.186753+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:18:01.961388
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-40161         Document: 00516703460             Page: 1      Date Filed: 04/06/2023

              United States Court of Appeals
                   for the Fifth Circuit                                          United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                           Fifth Circuit
                                      ____________
                                                                                         FILED
                                                                                      April 6, 2023
                                       No. 22-40161
                                     Summary Calendar                                 Lyle W. Cayce
                                     ____________                                          Clerk

   United States of America,

                                                                      Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                             versus

   Isauro Carreto-Cruz,

                                               Defendant—Appellant.
                      ______________________________

                      Appeal from the United States District Court
                           for the Eastern District of Texas
                               USDC No. 4:19-CR-301-2
                      ______________________________

   Before Barksdale, Elrod, and Haynes, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam:*
          Isauro Carreto-Cruz was convicted by a jury of: conspiracy to possess
   with intent to distribute and distribution of heroin; conspiracy to possess with
   intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine; and possession of
   with intent to distribute and distribution of heroin. See 18 U.S.C. § 2; 21

          _____________________
          *
              This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-40161        Document: 00516703460         Page: 2     Date Filed: 04/06/2023

                                     No. 22-40161

   U.S.C. §§ 841, 846. He was sentenced to, inter alia, a within-Guidelines
   range of 78-months’ imprisonment.
          Carreto contends the district court erred by finding he was a minor
   participant in the drug conspiracy and granting a two-level reduction to his
   offense level, pursuant to Sentencing Guideline § 3B1.2(b), instead of finding
   that he was a minimal participant and granting a four-level reduction under
   § 3B1.2(a).
          Although post-Booker, the Guidelines are advisory only, the district
   court must avoid significant procedural error, such as improperly calculating
   the Guidelines sentencing range. Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 46, 51
   (2007). If no such procedural error exists, a properly preserved objection to
   an ultimate sentence is reviewed for substantive reasonableness under an
   abuse-of-discretion standard. Id. at 51; United States v. Delgado-Martinez,
   564 F.3d 750, 751–53 (5th Cir. 2009). In that respect, for issues preserved in
   district court, as in this instance, its application of the Guidelines is reviewed
   de novo; its factual findings, only for clear error. E.g., United States v.
   Cisneros-Gutierrez, 517 F.3d 751, 764 (5th Cir. 2008).
           Guideline 3B1.2 “provides a range of adjustments for a defendant
   who plays a part in committing the offense that makes him substantially less
   culpable than the average participant in the criminal activity”. § 3B1.2 cmt.
   n.3(A). Carreto has the burden of demonstrating his entitlement to a minor
   or minimal role adjustment. E.g., United States v. Castro, 843 F.3d 608, 612
   (5th Cir. 2016).
          In granting a minor-role reduction but denying a minimal-participant
   reduction, the court agreed that Carreto was substantially less culpable than
   the other participants in the offense. The court noted, however, that Carreto
   did have some understanding of the scope and structure of the drug-
   trafficking conspiracy because: he was present for several of his brother’s

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Case: 22-40161      Document: 00516703460          Page: 3   Date Filed: 04/06/2023

                                    No. 22-40161

   drug deals; he acted as a lookout and security for the deals; and the apartment
   he leased was used as a “stash house”. We have upheld the denial of role-
   reduction adjustments in similar cases. See, e.g., United States v. Jordan, 945
   F.3d 245, 265 (5th Cir. 2019) (affirming denial of role adjustment where
   defendant had some knowledge of scope and structure of bank robbery
   offense; was somewhat involved in planning or organizing; and acted as
   a lookout, maintained communication throughout offense, and tried to flee
   scene); Castro, 843 F.3d at 612–14 (affirming denial of mitigating role
   reduction for courier who transported drugs and proceeds as part of drug
   trafficking organization).
          The court’s finding that Carreto was entitled to a minor-role
   reduction but was not a minimal participant in the offense was “plausible in
   light of the record read as a whole” and, therefore, not clearly erroneous.
   United States v. Gomez-Valle, 828 F.3d 324, 327 (5th Cir. 2016) (citation
   omitted).   Additionally, to the extent “the factors support a plausible
   judgment in either direction”, the court did not clearly err in denying a
   minimal-participant adjustment. United States v. Bello-Sanchez, 872 F.3d
   260, 264–65 (5th Cir. 2017).
          AFFIRMED.

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