United States v. Ceballos

283 F. App'x 212

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Decided: June 19, 2008
• Docket: 07-40743
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

PER CURIAM: *

Sergio Eduardo Ceballos, Jr., was convicted of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute cocaine. He was sentenced to serve two concurrent 20-year terms of imprisonment. Ceballos argues for the first time on appeal that his sentence is unreasonable and that the district court should have sentenced him below the mandatory statutory minimum sentence of 20 years.

After United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220, 261-63, 125 S.Ct. 738, 160 L.Ed.2d 621 (2005), we ordinarily review sentences for reasonableness. United States v. Mares, 402 F.3d 511, 520 (5th Cir.2005). Generally, “post-Booker sentencing courts lack discretion to depart below relevant statutory mínimums.” United States v. Krumnow, 476 F.3d 294, 297 (5th Cir.2007). There are two exceptions to this general rule, neither of which is applicable here. As Ceballos could not be sentenced to any lower sentence than the statutory mandatory minimum, he cannot show error, plain or otherwise, with respect to the reasonableness of his sentence.

AFFIRMED.

* Pursuant to 5th Cir. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. R. 47.5.4.