US v. Christian Beltran

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 4:12-cr-00023-JLK-1 Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999268392].. [13-4407]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 13-4407

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
CHRISTIAN OMAR BELTRAN,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of Virginia, at Danville.
Jackson L. Kiser, Senior
District Judge. (4:12-cr-00023-JLK-1)

Submitted:

December 18, 2013

Decided:

December 31, 2013

Before MOTZ, SHEDD, and KEENAN, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Krysia Carmel Nelson, LAW OFFICES OF KRYSIA CARMEL NELSON, PLC,
Keswick, Virginia, for Appellant.
Timothy J. Heaphy, United
States Attorney, Ashley B. Neese, Assistant United States
Attorney, Roanoke, Virginia, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Christian

Omar

Beltran

was

convicted

by

a

jury

of

conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana, in
violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 (2012) (Count One), possession with
intent

to

distribute

§ 841(a)(1)

(2012)

during

in

and

marijuana,

(Count

furtherance

in
and

Two),
of

a

violation
possession

drug

of

21

of

trafficking

U.S.C.

a

firearm

crime,

violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) (2012) (Count Three).

in

Beltran

was sentenced to a total of 168 months of imprisonment.

On

appeal,

he

to

support

his

contends

that

§ 924(c)

there

was

insufficient

conviction

and

that

the

evidence

district

court

erred in denying a two-level sentencing reduction for acceptance
of

responsibility

§ 3E1.1 (2012).

under

U.S.

Sentencing

Guidelines

Manual

We affirm.

In February 2012, law enforcement officers conducted a
stop of Beltran’s vehicle.

Inside the vehicle officers found a

loaded pistol and a bag containing more than forty pounds of
marijuana.

Beltran acknowledged ownership of the firearm, which

had been previously reported as stolen, and admitted that he had
been engaged in the transportation of marijuana for some time.
At trial, Beltran testified that he possessed the firearm solely
for the protection of himself and his family and did not intend
to use it “in furtherance” of his drug trafficking.
convicted Beltran on all three counts.
2

The jury

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At

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sentencing,

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the

government

objected

to

the

probation officer’s recommendation that Beltran’s acceptance of
responsibility warranted a two-level reduction in his offense
level

calculation.

The

sentencing

court

sustained

the

objection.
Beltran
evidence

to

first

support

argues

his

that

§ 924(c)

there

was

conviction.

insufficient

We

review

the

sufficiency of the evidence underlying a criminal conviction “by
determining whether there is substantial evidence in the record,
when viewed in the light most favorable to the government, to
support the conviction.”

United States v. Jaensch, 665 F.3d 83,

93 (4th Cir. 2011) (internal quotation marks omitted), cert.
denied, 132 S. Ct. 2118 (2012).

We will not overturn a jury

verdict if “any rational trier of fact could have found the
essential

elements

of

the

crime

beyond

a

reasonable

doubt.”

United States v. Dinkins, 691 F.3d 358, 387 (4th Cir. 2012)
(emphasis and internal quotation marks omitted), cert. denied,
133 S. Ct. 1278 (2013).
To establish a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c), the
government

must

prove

that

Beltran

(1)

used,

carried

or

possessed a firearm (2) in furtherance of a drug trafficking
crime

or

crime

of

violence.

See

18

U.S.C.

§

924(c)(1)(A);

United States v. Jeffers, 570 F.3d 557, 565 (4th Cir. 2009).
“Furtherance”

under

§

924(c)

means
3

“the

act

of

furthering,

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advancing, or helping forward.”
F.3d

701,

705

(4th

brackets omitted).

Cir.

United States v. Lomax, 293

2002)

(internal

quotation

marks

and

Whether a firearm furthered, advanced, or

helped forward a drug trafficking crime is a question of fact.
Id.

Numerous factors might lead a reasonable trier of fact to

find a connection between a defendant’s possession of a weapon
and a drug trafficking crime, including:

“the type of drug

activity that is being conducted, accessibility of the firearm,
the type of weapon, whether the weapon is stolen, the status of
the

possession

(legitimate

or

illegal),

whether

the

gun

is

loaded, proximity to drugs or drug profits, and the time and
circumstances

under

which

the

gun

is

found.”

Id.

(internal

quotation marks omitted).
In

the

present

case,

Beltran

admitted

that

he

was

trafficking over forty pounds of marijuana, which the evidence
established had a wholesale value of approximately $40,000.

The

firearm was loaded and was on the passenger-side floorboard,
accessible to Beltran and in close proximity to the marijuana.
Although Beltran had a license to carry a firearm, the pistol
itself was stolen.

We conclude that, taken together and in the

light most favorable to the government, sufficient evidence was
adduced at trial to sustain the conviction.
Beltran next argues that the district court erred in
sustaining the government’s objection to an adjustment in his
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Guidelines sentence for acceptance of responsibility.

Whether

the district court has the authority to grant such a reduction
is a legal conclusion to be reviewed de novo, United States v.
Hargrove,

478

determination

F.3d
of

195,

whether

198
a

(4th

Cir.

defendant

2007),

is

but

the

to

the

entitled

adjustment “is clearly a factual issue and thus reviewable under
a clearly erroneous standard.”

United States v. White, 875 F.2d

427, 431 (4th Cir. 1989).
Section 3E1.1 of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual
(“USSG”)

(2012)

provides

for

a

two-level

reduction

for

a

defendant who “clearly demonstrates acceptance of responsibility
for his offense.”

United States v. Jeffery, 631 F.3d 669, 678

(4th Cir. 2011) (internal quotation marks omitted).

We have

held that, “[a]lthough the reduction is not intended to apply to
a defendant who puts the government to its burden of proof at
trial[,] . . . going to trial does not automatically preclude
the adjustment."

Id. (internal quotation marks omitted); see

USSG § 3E1.1 cmt. n.2.

However, “[p]ursuant to the Guidelines,

a denial of relevant conduct is inconsistent with acceptance of
responsibility.”
(4th

Cir.

2003)

Elliott v. United States, 332 F.3d 753, 766
(internal

quotation

marks

omitted).

An

18

U.S.C. § 924(c) conviction constitutes relevant conduct for the
purposes

of

sentencing

§ 3E1.1.
judge

is

Hargrove,
in

a

478

unique
5

F.3d

at

position

201.
to

“[T]he

evaluate

a

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defendant’s acceptance of responsibility, and thus . . . the
determination

of

deference

review.”

on

the

sentencing
Elliott,

judge

is

332

entitled

F.3d

at

761

to

great

(internal

quotations omitted).
Our examination of the record convinces us that the
district court did not misapprehend its authority to grant an
acceptance of responsibility reduction, but simply exercised its
discretion to decline to accept the adjustment recommended by
the probation officer.

Based on the facts before the district

court, we find no error, clear or otherwise, in the court’s
decision.

Therefore, this claim entitles Beltran to no relief.
Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s judgment.

We

dispense

contentions

with
are

oral

argument

adequately

because

presented

in

the

facts

and

the

materials

legal
before

this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

6