United States v. Jorge Torres-Gomez

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Decided: April 4, 2019
• Docket: 18-40918
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

Case: 18-40918 Document: 00514903162 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/04/2019

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

No. 18-40918 FILED Summary Calendar April 4, 2019 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee

v.

JORGE ALBERTO TORRES-GOMEZ,

Defendant-Appellant

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 7:18-CR-145-1

Before JOLLY, COSTA, and HO, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: * Jorge Alberto Torres-Gomez pleaded guilty to one count of importing into the United States five kilograms or more of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 and 960. The district court imposed a within-guidelines sentence of 87 months in prison, with no term of supervised release. Represented by the Federal Public Defender, Torres-Gomez raises an argument, in order to

* 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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.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. Case: 18-40918 Document: 00514903162 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/04/2019

No. 18-40918

preserve the issue for further review, that he correctly concedes is foreclosed by circuit precedent. Before this court, Torres-Gomez argues that the factual basis for his guilty plea was inadequate because the Government did not prove that he knew the type and quantity of the drug involved in his offense. Knowledge of the drug type and quantity is not an element of a federal drug offense. See United States v. Betancourt, 586 F.3d 303, 308-09 (5th Cir. 2009). Accordingly, the Government was not required to prove that Torres-Gomez knew the type or quantity of drugs involved. Torres-Gomez’s unopposed motion for summary disposition is GRANTED, and the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.