United States v. Yezel Nevarez-Martell

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
• Decided: January 4, 2019
• Docket: 18-40442
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

Case: 18-40442 Document: 00514782387 Page: 1 Date Filed: 01/04/2019

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

No. 18-40442 FILED January 4, 2019 Summary Calendar Lyle W. Cayce Clerk UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee

v.

YEZEL EUNICE NEVAREZ-MARTELL,

Defendant-Appellant

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 7:17-CR-591-1

Before KING, SOUTHWICK, and ENGELHARDT, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: * Yezel Eunice Nevarez-Martell pleaded guilty to importing 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. Nevarez-Martell contends that her conviction was not supported by an adequate factual basis because the Government did not meet its obligation to prove that she had knowledge of the type and quantity of drugs involved in her offense.

* 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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.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: 18-40442 Document: 00514782387 Page: 2 Date Filed: 01/04/2019

No. 18-40442

As Nevarez-Martell concedes, her sole appellate argument is foreclosed by United States v. Betancourt, 586 F.3d 303, 308-09 (5th Cir. 2009), which determined that Flores-Figueroa v. United States, 556 U.S. 646 (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 21 U.S.C. § 841 drug trafficking offense. The Government thus did not have to prove that Nevarez-Martell was aware of the type and quantity of controlled substances involved in her offense under the analogous statute of 21 U.S.C. § 960(a)(1), (b)(1). See United States v. Zuniga- Martinez, 512 F. App’x 428, 428 (5th Cir. 2013). Therefore, Nevarez-Martell’s motion for summary disposition is GRANTED, and the district court’s judgment is AFFIRMED.