US v. Jesus Garcia

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 9:14-cr-00477-SB-1 Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999658190].. [15-4113]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 15-4113

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
JESUS MORALES GARCIA,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
South Carolina, at Beaufort.
Sol Blatt, Jr., Senior District
Judge. (9:14-cr-00477-SB-1)

Submitted:

July 30, 2015

Before KING and
Circuit Judge.

GREGORY,

Decided:

Circuit

Judges,

September 11, 2015

and

DAVIS,

Senior

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

J. Robert Haley, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Charleston,
South Carolina, for Appellant.
Michael Rhett DeHart, Assistant
United
States
Attorney,
Charleston,
South
Carolina,
for
Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Jesus Morales Garcia pled guilty to illegal reentry of a
removed

felon,

(2012),

and

appeal,

in

counsel

was

violation

sentenced
has

California,

386

meritorious

grounds

district

court

to

filed

U.S.

738
for

complied

of

8

30

a

appeal

§

months’

brief

(1967),

with

U.S.C.

Fed.

pursuant

to

that

questioning
R.

(b)(1)

imprisonment.

stating

but

1326(a),

Crim.

Anders

there

are

whether

P.

11

when

On
v.
no
the
it

accepted Garcia’s guilty plea and whether Garcia’s sentence is
reasonable.

Although notified of his right to do so, Garcia has

not filed a pro se supplemental brief.

Finding no reversible

error, we affirm.
Because

Garcia

did

not

move

in

the

district

court

to

withdraw his plea, we review the guilty plea hearing for plain
error.
2014).

United States v. Sanya, 774 F.3d 812, 815 (4th Cir.
To establish plain error, Garcia must show:

(1) there

was error; (2) the error was plain; and (3) the error affected
his substantial rights.

Henderson v. United States, 133 S. Ct.

1121, 1126-27 (2013); United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 732
(1993).

In

the

guilty

plea

context,

a

defendant

meets

his

burden of demonstrating that an error affected his substantial
rights by showing a reasonable probability that he would not
have pled guilty but for the Rule 11 error.
Davila, 133 S. Ct. 2139, 2147 (2013).
2

United States v.

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Our review of the transcript of the guilty plea hearing
leads

us

complied

to
with

guilty plea.

conclude
the

that

the

mandates

of

district

Rule

11

court

in

substantially

accepting

Garcia’s

Any omissions by the district court did not affect

Garcia’s substantial rights.

See United States v. Massenburg,

564 F.3d 337, 343 (4th Cir. 2009).

Because Garcia has failed to

show that the district court’s acceptance of his guilty plea
warrants reversal, we affirm his conviction.
Garcia also questioned the reasonableness of his 30-month
sentence.

When

reviewing

a

sentence

for

apply “an abuse-of-discretion standard.”
552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007).

reasonableness,

we

Gall v. United States,

We first examine the district court’s

sentence for “significant procedural error,” including “failing
to calculate (or improperly calculating) the Guidelines range,
. . . failing to consider the [18 U.S.C.] § 3553(a) factors,
selecting

a

sentence

based

on

clearly

erroneous

facts,

failing to adequately explain the chosen sentence.”

or

Id.; see

also United States v. Strieper, 666 F.3d 288, 292 (“[W]e review
the

court’s

factual

findings

for

clear

error,

its

legal

conclusions de novo.”).
If we find no significant procedural error, we then review
the

sentence

totality

of

Mendoza,

597

for
the
F.3d

substantive

reasonableness,

circumstances.”
212,

216

(4th
3

United
Cir.

“examin[ing]

States

2010).

the

v.

Mendoza–

The

sentence

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imposed must be “sufficient, but not greater than necessary,” to
satisfy

the

goals

of

sentencing.

18

U.S.C.

§ 3553(a).

We

presume on appeal that a sentence within or below the Sentencing
Guidelines range is substantively reasonable.

United States v.

Louthian, 756 F.3d 295, 306 (4th Cir.), cert. denied, 135 S. Ct.
421 (2014).

An appellant can rebut that presumption only “by

showing that the sentence is unreasonable when measured against
the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors.”
We

conclude

procedural

that

Id.

the

district

by

correctly

requirements

court

satisfied

calculating

the

Garcia’s

Guidelines range; considering the arguments of Garcia’s counsel,
Garcia’s allocution, and the § 3553(a) factors; and providing an
individualized assessment fully grounded in those factors.
to

substantive

reasonableness,

we

conclude

that

Garcia

As
has

failed to rebut the presumption of reasonableness accorded to
his below-Guidelines sentence.
In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the record in
this case and have found no meritorious issues for appeal.
therefore affirm Garcia’s conviction and sentence.

We

This court

requires that counsel inform Garcia, in writing, of the right to
petition

the

Supreme

review.

If

Garcia

Court

of

requests

the
that

United
a

States

petition

be

for

further

filed,

but

counsel believes that such a petition would be frivolous, then
counsel

may

move

in

this

court
4

for

leave

to

withdraw

from

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representation.

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Counsel’s motion must state that a copy thereof

was served on Garcia.

We dispense with oral argument because

the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the
materials

before

this

court

and

argument

would

not

aid

the

decisional process.
AFFIRMED

5