US v. Arturo Hernandez-Frias

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 3:09-cr-00211-REP-1 Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [998831101]. Mailed to: Sarah Elizabeth Chase. [09-5222]

Appeal: 09-5222

Document: 71

Date Filed: 04/12/2012

Page: 1 of 14

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 09-5222

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
ARTURO HERNANDEZ-FRIAS, a/k/a Sergio Armando Andrade-Lopez,
a/k/a Arturo Fries Hernandez,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Richmond.
Robert E. Payne, Senior
District Judge. (3:09-cr-00211-REP-1)

Argued:

March 20, 2012

Before MOTZ and
Circuit Judge.

SHEDD,

Decided:

Circuit

Judges,

and

April 12, 2012

HAMILTON,

Senior

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion

ARGUED: Patrick L. Bryant, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC
DEFENDER, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellant.
Richard Daniel
Cooke, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Richmond, Virginia,
for Appellee.
ON BRIEF: Samuel P. Simpson, V, MONTGOMERY &
SIMPSON, LLLP, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellant.
Neil H.
MacBride, United States Attorney, Alexandria, Virginia, for
Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

Appeal: 09-5222

Document: 71

Date Filed: 04/12/2012

Page: 2 of 14

PER CURIAM:
Arturo Hernandez-Frias pleaded guilty to being “found in”
the United States after previously being deported subsequent to
a conviction for an aggravated felony, in violation of 8 U.S.C.
§ 1326(a).

Hernandez-Frias appeals his sentence, challenging

both the calculation of his criminal history points under the
U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the district court’s failure to
provide an individualized explanation for his sentence.

For the

reasons that follow, we affirm.

I.
Hernandez-Frias, a native of Mexico, legally entered the
United States on a work permit when he was a teenager.

In 1990,

however, he was convicted in California of a felony offense for
drug distribution, resulting in the cancellation of his work
permit.

In 1993, Hernandez-Frias was convicted of another drug-

related felony offense.
In 2000 and again in 2004, U.S. immigration authorities
arrested Hernandez-Frias and deported him from the United States
to

Mexico.

Each

time,

following

his

return

to

Mexico,

Hernandez-Frias illegally reentered the United States.

On July

23, 2005, Hernandez-Frias was arrested in Virginia for driving
under

the

convicted

influence
him

of

the

(“DUI”);
offense.
2

a

state
He

court

incurred

subsequently
another

DUI

Appeal: 09-5222

Document: 71

Date Filed: 04/12/2012

conviction in Virginia in 2009.
second

DUI

authorities

conviction,
discovered

on
that

While he was in jail for his

June
he

Page: 3 of 14

30,

was

2009,

U.S.

the

United

in

immigration
States

and

charged him with the instant offense.
Hernandez-Frias pleaded guilty to one count of being “found
in” the United States after previously being deported subsequent
to

a

conviction

for

8 U.S.C. § 1326(a).

an

aggravated

felony

in

violation

of

In preparing Hernandez-Frias’s presentence

report (“PSR”), the probation officer determined that HernandezFrias’s offense commenced on July 23, 2005 -- the date on which
Hernandez-Frias was arrested for his first DUI in Virginia. 1

The

probation officer then used this date to calculate HernandezFrias’s criminal history score pursuant to the U.S. Sentencing
Guidelines (“U.S.S.G.”).
Based on the July 23, 2005 commencement date, the probation
officer added criminal history points for Hernandez-Frias’s drug
conviction

in

1990.

See

U.S.S.G.

§§

4A1.1(a),

4A1.2(e)(1)

(directing the addition of three criminal history points for
“[a]ny prior sentence of imprisonment exceeding one year and one
month that was imposed within fifteen years of the defendant’s

1

The PSR does not explain the probation officer’s choice of
July 23, 2005 as the commencement date. The reason is obvious,
however:
it was the first date after Hernandez-Frias’s 2004
deportation for which the record conclusively established his
illegal presence in the United States.
3

Appeal: 09-5222

Document: 71

commencement

of

Date Filed: 04/12/2012

the

instant

Page: 4 of 14

offense”).

Additionally,

the

probation officer added two criminal history points because he
found that Hernandez-Frias committed the instant offense while
under

the

September
§ 4A1.1(d)

three-year
2005

for

“good

his

(directing

behavior”

first

the

DUI

addition

sentence

conviction.
of

two

imposed
See

criminal

in

U.S.S.G.
history

points “if the defendant committed the instant offense while
under any criminal justice sentence”).

With the addition of

these

to

points,

and

others

not

relevant

this

appeal,

the

probation officer calculated that Hernandez-Frias had a criminal
history category of V.
In the district court, neither party initially objected to
the presentence report.

At the sentencing hearing, however,

when the court asked if either party had any objections, defense
counsel stated that Hernandez-Frias “has a question with regard,
apparently, to use of his prior record in [the] calculation of
his sentencing guidelines, [in that] some of the items on the
record are old.”

Counsel continued that the objection “has to

do with when this criminal conduct started, how long before, you
know, the 15 years’ issue.”

Defense counsel offered that he did

not “think we’ve got a valid objection” on that issue.

The

district

and

court

granted

a

Hernandez-Frias to confer.

recess

for

defense

counsel

After the recess, Hernandez-Frias

stated on the record that he had no objections.
4

The court then

Appeal: 09-5222

adopted

Document: 71

the

Date Filed: 04/12/2012

presentence

report

as

Page: 5 of 14

tendered

by

the

probation

officer, which yielded an advisory Guidelines range of 70 to 87
months.
Upon

hearing

the

parties’

sentencing

arguments,

the

district court sentenced Hernandez-Frias to 72 months in prison.
The court stated that it had considered the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)
factors and that it believed that a within-Guidelines sentence
would accomplish the goals of those factors.

After announcing

the sentence, the court informed Hernandez-Frias that “it would
have been perfectly legitimate to have imposed the punishment of
87 months, but I did not feel it was a justifiable use of the
public funds to incarcerate you for the extra 15 months.

And if

you don’t learn in 72 months, you aren’t going to learn in 87
months that you can’t come back to this country without legal
permission.”
Hernandez-Frias timely noted this appeal.

II.
A.
Title 8, section 1326 of the U.S. Code prohibits aliens who
have been previously removed from this country from “enter[ing],
attempt[ing] to enter, or [being] . . . found in, the United
States”

without

permission

from

the

U.S.

Attorney

General.

Hernandez-Frias pleaded guilty to the offense of being “found
5

Appeal: 09-5222

Document: 71

Date Filed: 04/12/2012

in” the United States.
the

district

court

Page: 6 of 14

On appeal, Hernandez-Frias argues that

miscalculated

his

criminal

history

score

under the Sentencing Guidelines because it used the wrong date
for

the

commencement

of

his

offense.

He

asserts

that

the

offense of being “found in” the United States commences on the
date that immigration authorities discover a defendant in the
United States.

Thus, according to Hernandez-Frias, his offense

commenced on June 30, 2009 -- not July 23, 2005 as stated in his
PSR.

If his offense commenced on June 30, 2009, he notes that

the district court should not have assessed criminal history
points under U.S.S.G. § 4A1.1(a) or U.S.S.G. § 4A1.1(d) and the
exclusion of these points would have produced a lower applicable
Guidelines range.
In assessing a challenge to a district court’s application
of

the

Guidelines,

findings
United

for

clear

States

v.

we

typically

error

Allen,

and
446

review

its

legal

F.3d

522,

the

court’s

conclusions
527

(4th

factual
de

Cir.

novo.
2006).

Because Hernandez-Frias did not object to the calculation of his
criminal

history

score

before

the

district

Hernandez-Frias’s claim for plain error. 2

2

court,

we

review

To prevail, Hernandez-

The Government contends that by withdrawing his objection
at the sentencing hearing Hernandez-Frias waived his claim
entirely. See United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 733 (1993)
(comparing “waiver” and “forfeiture”). Hernandez-Frias counters
that this court should not find waiver because the record does
(Continued)
6

Appeal: 09-5222

Document: 71

Date Filed: 04/12/2012

Page: 7 of 14

Frias must demonstrate that the district court committed error,
that the error was plain, and that the error affected HernandezFrias’s

substantial

rights.

Fed.

R.

Crim.

P.

52(b);

United

States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 731-32 (1993).

We hold that he

cannot

plainly

do

so;

the

district

court

did

not

err

in

calculating his criminal history score.
The

first

criminal

history

enhancement

at

issue,

§ 4A1.1(a), instructs the district court to add three points to
the defendant’s criminal history score for each prior sentence
of imprisonment exceeding thirteen months.

U.S.S.G. § 4A1.1(a).

Such a prior sentence counts only if it “was imposed within
fifteen years of the defendant’s commencement of the instant
offense” or “resulted in the defendant being incarcerated during
any part of such fifteen-year period.”

U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2(e)(1).

The Guidelines commentary explains that “the term ‘commencement
of the instant offense’ includes any relevant conduct.”

Id.

cmt. n.8 (citing U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3(a)(1)).
Abundant

case

law

holds

that

the

“relevant

conduct”

of

being “found in” the United States commences on the date that

not make clear that Hernandez-Frias’s objection at the hearing
was the same as the claim he now raises on appeal.
Indeed,
defense
counsel’s
explanation
to
the
district
court
of
Hernandez-Frias’s objection was hardly precise.
We need not
address this dispute, however, because we reject HernandezFrias’s claim even under plain error review.
7

Appeal: 09-5222

Document: 71

Date Filed: 04/12/2012

Page: 8 of 14

the defendant illegally reenters the country and continues until
he or she is discovered by immigration authorities.

See, e.g.,

United States v. Delgado-Hernandez, 646 F.3d 562, 567 (8th Cir.
2011); United States v. Hernandez-Guererro, 633 F.3d 933, 937
(9th Cir. 2011); United States v. Hernandez-Gonzalez, 495 F.3d
55, 60-61 (3d Cir. 2007); United States v. Ruiz-Gea, 340 F.3d
1181, 1189 (10th Cir. 2003); United States v. Mendez-Cruz, 329
F.3d 885, 889 (D.C. Cir. 2003); United States v. Lopez-Flores,
275 F.3d 661, 663 (7th Cir. 2001).
circuits,

we

conclude

Hernandez-Frias,
States,

not

that

commenced

when

he

was

immigration authorities.
the

precise

date

of

the

upon

In accord with our sister
offense

his

“found”

of

reentry

in

the

the
to

defendant,
the

United

United

States

by

Because the record does not disclose

Hernandez-Frias’s

reentry,

the

district

court reasonably used the date of his July 23, 2005 DUI as the
commencement date -- the first date that the record conclusively
establishes

Hernandez-Frias’s

illegal

presence

in

the

United

States following his 2004 deportation.
Using July 23, 2005 as the offense commencement date, the
district

court

pursuant

to

conviction.

§

appropriately
4A1.1(a)

added

for

criminal

history

Hernandez-Frias’s

1990

points
drug

Hernandez-Frias’s 1990 drug conviction carried a

8

Appeal: 09-5222

Document: 71

sentence

Date Filed: 04/12/2012

exceeding

thirteen

Page: 9 of 14

months 3

and

it

resulted

incarceration within fifteen years of July 23, 2005.

in

his

Therefore,

the district court properly assessed criminal history points for
that prior conviction under § 4A1.1(a).
The district court also properly assessed criminal history
points

because

Hernandez-Frias

committed

part

of

his

§

1326

offense while under a probationary sentence for his 2005 DUI
conviction.
district
history

Section 4A1.1(d) and its commentary instruct the

court
score

to

add

two

points

“if

the

defendant

to

a

defendant’s

committed

any

part

criminal
of

the

instant offense (i.e., any relevant conduct) while under any
criminal

justice

sentence.”

U.S.S.G.

§

4A1.1(d)

cmt.

n.4.

Hernandez-Frias’s 2005 DUI conviction carried a three year goodbehavior sentence.

Thus, Hernandez-Frias’s illegal presence in

the United States overlapped with his good-behavior sentence and
the district court appropriately added criminal history points
under § 4A1.1(d).

3

Hernandez-Frias’s original sentence for the 1990 drug
conviction was incarceration for 240 days followed by 36 months
of probation.
But, on September 21, 1990, Hernandez-Frias
received an additional 180 days incarceration for a probation
violation.
Under U.S.S.G. § 4A1.2(k)(1), such revocation
sentences are added to the original term of imprisonment for the
purposes of computing criminal history points, thereby carrying
Hernandez-Frias over the thirteen month threshold.
9

Appeal: 09-5222

Document: 71

Date Filed: 04/12/2012

Page: 10 of 14

B.
We also reject Hernandez-Frias’s alternative argument that,
even if his offense commenced upon his illegal reentry to the
United States, his offense could not have commenced prior to
December

2007.

The

unrebutted

evidence

in

the

record

establishes that Hernandez-Frias was in the United States as of
July 23, 2005.
Hernandez-Frias

But based on a stray statement in his PSR,
asserts

that

his

most

recent

reentry

to

the

United States occurred in December 2007 or later.

He did not

raise

this

argument

point

as

in

lacking

the

district

adequate

court,

factual

and

we

reject

support

to

show

his

plain

error.
Hernandez-Frias’s assertion that he left the United States
after July 23, 2005 rests entirely on the single statement in
his

PSR

Because

that
his

he

“last

children

saw

reside

his

he

December

statement proves that he visited Mexico in December 2007.

But

Hernandez-Frias’s

the

require

claims

2007.”
this

would

Mexico,

in

that

argument

in

children

us

to

make

circumstantial inference that simply because Hernandez-Frias saw
his children in December 2007, he must have traveled to Mexico
to do so.

But, of course, it is also possible that the children

10

Appeal: 09-5222

Document: 71

Date Filed: 04/12/2012

came to the United States. 4

Page: 11 of 14

And Hernandez-Frias offered no other

evidence of his alleged return to Mexico.

On this record, the

PSR’s lone nonspecific reference to seeing his children is far
from sufficient to establish that the district court plainly
erred

by

not

dating

the

commencement

of

Hernandez-Frias’s

offense to December 2007.

III.
Finally,
committed

Hernandez-Frias

reversible

argues

error

in

that

the

failing

district

to

court

provide

an

individualized explanation of his criminal sentence in light of
the factors enumerated under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a).

See United

States v. Carter, 564 F.3d 325, 330 (4th Cir. 2009) (“Regardless
of

whether

the

within-Guidelines

district

court

sentence,

it

imposes
must

an

place

above,
on

the

below,

or

record

an

‘individualized assessment’ based on the particular facts of the
case before it.”); see also United States v. Lynn, 592 F.3d 572,
576, 581 (4th Cir. 2010).
district
inadequate

court

committed

explanation

The Government concedes that the
procedural

for

error

in

Hernandez-Frias’s

4

providing
sentence,

an
but

The PSR additionally states that Virginia Steel Erectors
employed Hernandez-Frias “[f]rom 2000 until his arrest for the
instant offense,” suggesting his continuous presence in the
United States.
11

Appeal: 09-5222

Document: 71

Date Filed: 04/12/2012

Page: 12 of 14

contends that the error was harmless.

Gov’t Br. at 43.

We

agree.
As a threshold matter, we note that Hernandez-Frias did
properly preserve an objection to his sentence.
challenge

to

defendant

need

pronounced

a

proceedings

an

insufficiently

not

explained

specifically

sentence,
‘draw[]

but

he

arguments

object
must

from

sentence,

after

at
§

To preserve a

the

some

3553

court

point

for

“the

a

different than the one ultimately imposed . . . .’”

in

has
the

sentence
United

States v. Powell, 650 F.3d 388, 395 (4th Cir. 2011) (quoting
Lynn, 592 F.3d at 576).
end

of

the

By requesting a sentence “at the low

guidelines”

by

recommended

advisory

advisory

the

and

the

“minimum

guidelines,”

Hernandez-Frias

effectively requested a sentence of 70 months.
court,

however,

Accordingly,

sentenced

him

Hernandez-Frias

to

72

preserved

months
an

sentence

The district
incarceration.

objection

to

his

sentence.
Because he preserved an objection, we apply harmless error
review in considering whether the district court’s procedural
error warrants reversal.
standard,

“the

demonstrates

Lynn, 592 F.3d at 579.

government

that

the

error

may
did

avoid
not

reversal
have

a

Under that
only

if

it

substantial

and

injurious effect or influence on the result and we can say with
fair assurance, that the district court’s explicit consideration
12

Appeal: 09-5222

of

Document: 71

[the

Date Filed: 04/12/2012

defendant’s]

sentence imposed.”
(4th

Cir.

omitted).

2010)
The

arguments

Page: 13 of 14

would

not

have

affected

the

United States v. Boulware, 604 F.3d 832, 840
(internal

Government

quotation
has

marks

satisfied

that

and

alterations

burden

in

this

case.
At sentencing, Hernandez-Frias made several straightforward
arguments under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), namely that his age, the
age

of

his

incarceration
sentence.
court

prior
on

family

and

counseled

the
in

impact

favor

of

of

a

his

lesser

The record in this case indicates that the district

considered

arguments.

his

convictions,

and

After

appreciated
hearing

Hernandez-Frias’s

Hernandez-Frias’s

§

3553(a)

arguments

and

personal allocution, the court stated that it had considered the
§ 3553(a) factors and believed that a within-Guidelines sentence
for

Hernandez-Frias

§ 3553(a). 5

would

accomplish

the

objectives

of

Then, the district court sentenced Hernandez-Frias

to 72 months imprisonment -- only two months above the sentence
Hernandez-Frias requested (and fifteen months below the sentence
requested by the Government).

5

Additionally, earlier in the sentencing hearing, the
district court granted a recess for Hernandez-Frias and his
counsel to confer over a possible objection to the age of his
prior convictions, suggesting that the court was aware that the
staleness of Hernandez-Frias’s prior convictions was a relevant
consideration.
13

Appeal: 09-5222

Document: 71

Date Filed: 04/12/2012

Hernandez-Frias
sentencing

arguments.

raised

Page: 14 of 14

uncomplicated,

Although

the

district

relatively
court

weak

erred

by

failing to address them specifically on the record, we believe
that a remand for resentencing would not change the sentence
imposed given that the district court sentenced Hernandez-Frias
to nearly the sentence that he requested.

Boulware, 604 F.3d at

840 (declining to remand for resentencing where such a remand
would be “pointless”).

Indeed, on this record, we believe that

the district court undertook the analysis required by Carter,
but simply failed to make that analysis explicit.

Under these

circumstances, the district court’s error was harmless.
Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

AFFIRMED

14