United States v. Rafael Esquivel-Castaneda

548 F. App'x 420

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Decided: December 6, 2013
• Docket: 13-50246
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Rafael Esquivel-Castaneda appeals from the district court’s judgment and challenges the 12-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for bringing in illegal aliens without presentation and aiding and abetting, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(2)(B)(iii) and 18 U.S.C. § 2. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.

Esquivel-Castaneda contends that the district court erred by imposing a two-level increase for using a minor to commit the crime under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.4. We review for clear error. See United States v. Preciado, 506 F.3d 808, 810 (9th Cir.2007) (per curiam). The district court did not clearly err in finding that Esquivel-Cas-taneda affirmatively used his children in his crime. See id. (evidence that defendant “brought children along to a previously planned crime supports a finding that the minors were used to avoid detection”).

AFFIRMED.

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