Court Opinion

ID: 9909337
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-12-13 01:00:36.612017+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:49:06.385048
License: Public Domain

Case: 23-50210        Document: 00516998751             Page: 1      Date Filed: 12/12/2023

             United States Court of Appeals
                  for the Fifth Circuit
                                     ____________
                                                                               United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                        Fifth Circuit
                                      No. 23-50210
                                    Summary Calendar                                  FILED
                                    ____________                              December 12, 2023
                                                                                 Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                          Clerk

                                                                      Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                            versus

   Aileen Gonzales,

                                              Defendant—Appellant.
                     ______________________________

                     Appeal from the United States District Court
                          for the Western District of Texas
                              USDC No. 7:22-CR-230-1
                     ______________________________

   Before Elrod, Oldham, and Wilson, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
         Aileen Gonzales pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute
   40 grams or more of fentanyl, and the district court sentenced her to 188
   months of imprisonment, to be followed by five years of supervised release.
   On appeal, she contends that the court erred in computing her offense level

         _____________________
         *
             This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 23-50210      Document: 00516998751          Page: 2   Date Filed: 12/12/2023

                                    No. 23-50210

   by not applying the safety-valve reduction in U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(18); see
   U.S.S.G. § 5C1.2(a).
          The record reflects that Gonzales exerted control over the hotel room
   where a firearm was located, and she admitted her knowledge of the firearm
   before the district court. Thus, the record supports a plausible inference that
   she had access to that firearm. See United States v. Fields, 72 F.3d 1200, 1212
   (5th Cir. 1996); United States v. Fambro, 526 F.3d 836, 839-40 (5th Cir. 2008).
   Gonzales did not meet her burden in establishing, by a preponderance of the
   evidence, that she did not constructively possess the firearm, which
   precludes her eligibility for the safety-valve reduction. See United States v.
   Vasquez, 161 F.3d 909, 910, 912 (5th Cir. 1998); United States v. Matias, 465
   F.3d 169, 173-74 (5th Cir. 2006); § 5C1.2(a)(2).
          AFFIRMED.

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