United States v. Julio Garcia-Equihua

414 F. App'x 992

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Decided: February 22, 2011
• Docket: 09-50453
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Julio Garcia-Equihua appeals from the 72-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for attempted entry after deportation, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.

Garcia-Equihua contends that the district court procedurally erred at sentencing by failing to adequately explain the sentence. The record reflects that the district court did not so err. See United States v. Catty, 520 F.3d 984, 992-93 (9th Cir.2008) (en banc).

Garcia-Equihua also contends that under Kimbrough v. United States, 552 U.S. 85, 128 S.Ct. 558, 169 L.Ed.2d 481 (2007), the district court erred by not explaining the reason for imposing a 16-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2, which Garcia-Equihua believes is empirically unsound. The policy behind the enhancement is sound. See United States v. Ramirez-Garcia, 269 F.3d 945, 947-48 (9th Cir.2001). As there is no separate obligation under Kimbrough for the district court to explain why it is imposing a valid enhancement, the district court’s explanation was sufficient. See Catty, 520 F.3d at 992 (“[T]he district court must explain [the sentence] sufficiently to permit meaningful appellate review.”).

Finally, Garcia-Equihua contends that his sentence is substantively unreasonable. In light of the totality of the circumstances, the sentence below the Guidelines range is substantively reasonable. See id. at 993.

AFFIRMED.

** This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.