Court Opinion

ID: 9891593
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-10-19 00:00:36.918689+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T13:43:27.891624
License: Public Domain

Case: 22-50954         Document: 00516936270             Page: 1      Date Filed: 10/18/2023

              United States Court of Appeals
                   for the Fifth Circuit
                                      ____________
                                                                                United States Court of Appeals
                                                                                         Fifth Circuit
                                       No. 22-50954
                                     Summary Calendar                                  FILED
                                     ____________                               October 18, 2023
                                                                                  Lyle W. Cayce
   United States of America,                                                           Clerk

                                                                       Plaintiff—Appellee,

                                             versus

   Luis Aceves-Ramirez,

                                               Defendant—Appellant.
                      ______________________________

                      Appeal from the United States District Court
                           for the Western District of Texas
                               USDC No. 7:22-CR-116-1
                      ______________________________

   Before Willett, Duncan, and Wilson, Circuit Judges.
   Per Curiam: *
          Luis Aceves-Ramirez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with
   intent to distribute more than 50 grams of actual methamphetamine. He was
   sentenced to 236 months of imprisonment and five years of supervised
   release. He argues on appeal that the district court erred by applying a two-
   level enhancement to his offense level based on its finding that he sold
   methamphetamine imported from Mexico. See U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(5)

          *
              This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.
Case: 22-50954      Document: 00516936270          Page: 2    Date Filed: 10/18/2023

                                    No. 22-50954

   (providing for a two-level offense enhancement if “the offense involved the
   importation of . . . methamphetamine”).
          It is undisputed that Aceves-Ramirez was born and raised in Mexico,
   has family in Mexico, and is not a citizen of the United States. It also
   undisputed that Aceves-Ramirez was caught distributing high-purity
   methamphetamine, which we have previously recognized as evidence of
   importation. See United States v. Arayatanon, 980 F.3d 444, 452 (5th Cir.
   2020); see also United States v. Cadena, 642 F. App’x 306, 307 (5th Cir. 2016).
   And, perhaps most importantly, Aceves-Ramirez’s co-conspirator admitted
   to authorities upon arrest that one of their suppliers, “Carter,” resided in
   Mexico. Based on this evidence, the district court’s finding that Aceves-
   Ramirez sold methamphetamine imported from Mexico was certainly
   “plausible in light of the record as a whole.” United States v. Alaniz, 726 F.3d
   586, 622 (5th Cir. 2013).
          Aceves-Ramirez’s reliance on United States v. Nimerfroh, 716 F.
   App’x 311 (5th Cir. 2018), an unpublished decision, is misplaced. We found
   clear error in the district court’s decision to apply the importation
   enhancement in Nimerfroh because that finding was predicated solely on the
   vague mention that the defendant was dealing with the “cartel.” Id. at 316.
   “Even if [the defendant’s] use of the word ‘cartel’ could be read to mean a
   Mexican cartel,” we reasoned, “such a reading says nothing about where the
   cartel’s activities took place[,] nor does it speak to where the
   methamphetamine came from and whether it was imported.” Id. The
   evidence against Aceves-Ramirez in this case, on the other hand, is
   considerably stronger than it was in Nimerfroh. In addition to the evidence
   establishing Aceves-Ramirez’s ties to Mexico and the purity of the
   methamphetamine he was distributing, his co-conspirator specifically
   identified their source of supply as one from Mexico. So even if Nimerfroh
   were precedential, it would not change our decision here. We therefore find

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Case: 22-50954     Document: 00516936270          Page: 3   Date Filed: 10/18/2023

                                   No. 22-50954

   no clear error underlying the district court’s decision to apply a two-level
   enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(5).
         Aceves-Ramirez additionally argues, for the first time on appeal, that
   the two-level enhancement was error because there was no evidence that he
   knew the methamphetamine was imported. He properly concedes, however,
   that this argument is foreclosed by circuit precedent. See United States v.
   Serfass, 684 F.3d 548, 550–53 (5th Cir. 2012) (holding that U.S.S.G.
   § 2D1.1(b)(5) may be applied “whether or not the defendant knew that the
   methamphetamine was imported”).
         Accordingly, the district court’s judgment is AFFIRMED.

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