United States v. Yair Parroquin-Luna

685 F. App'x 326

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Decided: April 13, 2017
• Docket: 16-41355 Summary Calendar
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

PER CURIAM: *

Yair Parroquin-Luna pled guilty without a written plea agreement to possession with intent to distribute 920.9 grams of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A). The district court sentenced him to 80 months in prison and five years of supervised release. On appeal, he 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 drugs involved in the offense.

As Parroquin-Luna concedes, his argument is foreclosed by United States v. Betancourt, 586 F.3d 303, 308-09 (5th Cir. 2009). It held that Flores-Figueroa v. United States, 556 U.S. 646, 129 S.Ct. 1886, 173 L.Ed.2d 853 (2009), did not overturn United States v. Gamez-Gonzalez, 319 F.3d 695 (5th Cir. 2003), and that the Government is not required to prove knowledge of the drug type and quantity as an element of a Section 841 offense. See United States v. Gil-Cruz, 808 F.3d 274, 278 (5th Cir. 2015) (relying on Betancourt to reject as foreclosed a similar challenge to a drug conspiracy conviction).

Accordingly, Parroquin-Luna’s motion for summary disposition is GRANTED, and the district court’s judgment is 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* Pursuant to 5th Cir. R 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Cir. R 47.5.4.