United States v. Archuleta

382 F. App'x 732
Procedural entryThis page is a short order in United States v. Archuleta. Read the opinion of the Court — 257 F. App'x 116
Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit·Decided June 14, 2010·No. 09-4231·Unpublished

Opinion

ORDER AND JUDGMENT *

MARY BECK BRISCOE, Chief Judge.

After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined unanimously to honor the parties’ request for a decision on the briefs without oral argument. See Fed. R.App. P. 34(f); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is, therefore, submitted without oral argument.

Defendant Joseph Daniel Archuleta pled guilty to one count of possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), and was sentenced to a term of imprisonment of 188 months. Archuleta now appeals, claiming the sentence imposed by the district court is substantively unreasonable. Exercising jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm.

I

On March 11, 2009, a federal grand jury indicted Archuleta on one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1), and one count of possessing with intent to distribute 5 grams or more of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). On May 29, 2009, Archuleta pled guilty to the possession of methamphetamine charge in exchange for the government’s agreement to dismiss the felon in possession charge.

On July 13, 2009, the probation office disclosed to the district court and the parties its presentence report (PSR). In calculating Archuleta’s advisory guideline range, the PSR first imposed a base offense level of 26 pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c)(7) and a 2-level enhancement pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(1) for Ar-chuleta having possessed a firearm in connection with the offense of conviction. The *734 PSR then imposed an 8-level enhancement because it concluded Archuleta satisfied the definition of “career offender” outlined in U.S.S.G. § 4Bl.l(a) and the applicable offense level from the career offender table set forth in U.S.S.G. § 4Bl.l(b)(B), i.e., 34, was greater than the offense level otherwise applicable to Archuleta. Lastly, the PSR imposed a 3-level decrease pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1 for acceptance of responsibility, resulting in a total offense level of 31. That offense level, combined with Archuleta’s criminal history score of 14 and criminal history category of VI, resulted in an advisory guideline range of 188 to 235 months. 1

Archuleta filed no objections to the PSR. He did, however, file a motion for downward departure or, in the alternative, downward variance. In that motion, Ar-chuleta asserted the district court should “impose a sentence within the applicable guideline range without application of the career offender guideline,” i.e., a sentence of 110 to 137 months. ROA, Vol. 1 at 22. Archuleta’s motion argued this could be accomplished by way of “a § 4A1.3 vertical departure from the career criminal guideline” based upon the mitigating details of his criminal history. Id. at 25. Although Archuleta conceded “[h]e [had been] in trouble all of the time,” he argued his “trouble [was] of a less serious nature than the worst of the worst offenders,” i.e., the “offenders which the [career offender] guideline must be attempting to identify. ...” Id. In particular, Archuleta asserted he “ha[d] never been convicted of a violent crime for the purposes of the career offender guidelines,” id., and he asserted his drug distribution offenses were driven by his own addiction to drugs.

Archuleta’s motion also argued that a sentence of 110 to 137 months could be accomplished by way of a downward variance from the advisory career criminal guidelines. In particular, Archuleta suggested the district court could impose a sentence “within the [advisory] guideline range, as calculated without the career offender provisions.... ” Id. at 33. Ar-chuleta argued that “this straight guideline sentence on his drug count with a criminal history category of VI [wa]s appropriate to account for his criminal culpability in total... .’’Id. at26.

The government filed a response in opposition to Archuleta’s motion, arguing “there [we]re no ‘genuinely distinguishing factors’ that would justify refusing to treat [Archuleta] as a career offender.” Id. at 57 (quoting United States v. Friedman, 554 F.3d 1301, 1310 (10th Cir.2009)). The government noted Archuleta “ha[d] 10 criminal convictions along with 7 additional arrests since becoming an adult,” id. at 59, and two of those prior convictions involved distribution of “large quantities of drugs,” id. at 57. Consequently, the government argued, Archuleta’s criminal history “put him squarely within [the career offender] category.” Id.

Archuleta’s sentencing hearing took place on November 20, 2009. At the outset of the hearing, the district court concluded the PSR’s advisory guideline calculations were correct, and that “unless there [wa]s a disregarding of the career offender category,” ROA, Vol. 2 at 7, Ar-chuleta’s advisory guideline range was *735 “188 to 235 months,” id. at 7-8. Turning to Archuleta’s motion for a downward departure or variance, the district court noted that Archuleta “started having troubles with the juvenile system in 1989, maybe at 14 or 15,” and had “basically been constantly in trouble from that time to the present.” Id. at 12-13. In light of this history, the' district court noted, it “ha[d] great difficulty ... finding any reason not to conclude that ... Archuleta [wa]s a career offender.” Id. at 25. “And,” the district court concluded, because the Sentencing Commission had “spell[ed] out quite clearly that the required sentence for someone with [Archuleta’s] kind of history [wa]s a severe sentence,” the court was “required to find, based on the[] facts, that ... Archuleta [wa]s a career offender, and [it] w[ould] sentence him at the low end of the Guideline range.” Id. Accordingly, the district court imposed a sentence of 188 months’ imprisonment, a term at the bottom of the advisory guideline range.

Judgment was entered in the case on November 30, 2009. Archuleta filed a notice of appeal on December 15, 2009.

II

On appeal, Archuleta contends “[t]he within-guidelines sentence imposed [by the district court] was substantively unreasonable.” Aplt. Br. at 7.

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