United States v. Ocon-Estrada

237 F. App'x 369
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedJune 26, 2007
Docket06-2326
StatusUnpublished

This text of 237 F. App'x 369 (United States v. Ocon-Estrada) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Ocon-Estrada, 237 F. App'x 369 (10th Cir. 2007).

Opinion

*371 ORDER AND JUDGMENT **

PAUL KELLY, JR., Circuit Judge.

Defendant-Appellant Pedro Ocon-Estrada entered a guilty plea to one charge of illegal reentry of an alien after deportation for a conviction of an aggravated felony, in violation of 8 U.S.C. §§ 1826(a) and (b)(2). As a result, the district court sentenced him to thirty months’ imprisonment and two years’ supervised release. Mr. Ocon-Estrada appeals, arguing that the thirty-month sentence is unreasonable. Exercising jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a) and 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm.

Mr. Ocon-Estrada was arrested by a federal agent on March 22, 2006 and was charged with being illegally present in the United States subsequent to deportation for an aggravated felony conviction. He pleaded guilty to that charge shortly thereafter.

Prior to Mr. Ocon-Estrada’s sentencing hearing, a Presentence Investigation Report (PSR) was prepared. The PSR revealed that, on May 31, 1994, Mr. OconEstrada was convicted of burglary of a habitation in Texas state court, which resulted in a suspended ten-year prison sentence. On April 13, 1995, however, his probation was revoked and he was sentenced to five years’ imprisonment. Consequently, the PSR calculated Mr. OconEstrada’s base offense-level as eight and recommended a sixteen-level enhancement because his prior burglary conviction qualified as an enumerated “crime of violence.” See U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(l)(A)(n) & cmt. n. l(B)(iii). The PSR also recommended a three-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility, resulting in a total offense-level of twenty-one. In addition, Mr. Ocon-Estrada had three criminal history points, placing him in a criminal history category of II. A base offense-level of twenty-one combined with a criminal history category of II resulted in a Guideline range of forty-one to fifty-one months’ imprisonment, which the Probation Office believed to be reasonable.

At the district court, Mr. Ocon-Estrada claimed that his date of birth was January 28, 1977 and thus he was only seventeen years old when he was convicted of burglary in Texas. Prior to his current offense, Mr. Ocon-Estrada had been arrested on three occasions and had given his date of birth as June 3, 1976 each time. Nonetheless, the PSR adopted the 1977 date of birth and noted his juvenile status at the time of his Texas burglary conviction.

At the sentencing hearing, Mr. OconEstrada argued that the forty-one to fifty-one month Guideline range was unreasonable because he had been convicted of the crime of violence eleven years prior and had committed that crime when he was a minor. He also argued that the burglary for which he was convicted in Texas was not in fact a crime of violence. For these reasons, he requested a sentence of ten months’ imprisonment. The district court, however, concluded that his burglary conviction was indeed a crime of violence and thus a sixteen level enhancement to his base offense-level was appropriate. But, it agreed with Mr. Ocon-Estrada that his juvenile status was a relevant sentencing factor and, as a result, it found that a downward variance from the advisory Guideline range was appropriate. II Aplt. App. (Statement of Reasons) at 3. As a result, it sentenced him to thirty months’ imprisonment and two years’ supervised release.

*372 On appeal, Mr. Oeon-Estrada maintains that, despite the fact it is eleven months less than the minimum advisory Guideline range, the district court’s sentence is unreasonable because it still includes a sixteen-level enhancement for an offense he committed as a juvenile over eleven years ago. He claims that the sentence does not adequately compensate for the fact that he was a minor at the time of the prior offense. Additionally, he asks us to reverse his sentence because the district court failed to adequately explain why it sentenced him to thirty months’ imprisonment rather than the ten months he requested.

When reviewing a challenged sentence, we engage in a two-step analysis. First, we determine whether the district court correctly calculated the Guideline sentence, “reviewing its legal conclusions de novo and its factual findings for clear error.” United States v. Kristl, 437 F.3d 1050, 1055 (10th Cir.2006) (per curiam). Second, we consider whether the ultimate sentence is reasonable in light of the factors provided in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). United States v. Jarrillo-Luna, 478 F.3d 1226, 1228-29 (10th Cir.2007).

The district court correctly calculated the Guidelines sentence. Mr. OeonEstrada first appears to argue that the district court improperly applied the Guidelines because his prior Texas conviction for burglary does not constitute a crime of violence supporting a sixteen-level enhancement to his base offense level. This argument is unconvincing given that the definition of a “crime of violence” found in the comments to U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 specifically lists “burglary of a dwelling” as a crime of violence. See U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2, cmt. n. l(B)(iii); see also United States v. Guadardo, 40 F.3d 102 (5th Cir.1994) (holding that burglary of a dwelling in Texas constitutes a crime of violence). Moreover, Mr. Ocon-Estrada’s alleged status as a minor does not alter the characterization of his prior offense as a crime of violence.

Mr. Ocon-Estrada’s reliance on our unpublished decision in United States v. Ortuno-Caballero, 187 Fed.Appx. 814 (10th Cir.2006), is unavailing. In that case, we explained:

Because defendant has not been convicted of any of the crimes specifically enumerated in the first portion of § 2L1.2(b)(l)(A)’s “crime of violence” definition, the only way he could be subjected to the 16-level enhancement thereunder is if his prior Colorado state conviction for attempted first degree criminal trespass of a dwelling “had as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person of another.”

Id. at 817 (alteration omitted). Here, burglary of a dwelling is specifically listed as a crime of violence within U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2, cmt. n. l(B)(iii). That listing, standing alone, renders Ortuno-Caballero inapposite.

Mr. Oeon-Estrada further contends that the district court erred in enhancing his offense-level based on his prior conviction because U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2(d)(2) prohibits taking a juvenile conviction into account if the defendant was released from confinement for that offense more than five years prior to the offense for which he is currently being sentenced.

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Related

United States v. Booker
543 U.S. 220 (Supreme Court, 2004)
United States v. Kristl
437 F.3d 1050 (Tenth Circuit, 2006)
United States v. Ortuno-Caballero
187 F. App'x 814 (Tenth Circuit, 2006)
United States v. Jorge Ayala Guadardo
40 F.3d 102 (Fifth Circuit, 1994)
United States v. Miguel Angel Jarrillo-Luna
478 F.3d 1226 (Tenth Circuit, 2007)

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Bluebook (online)
237 F. App'x 369, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-ocon-estrada-ca10-2007.