US v. Oscar Martinez

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 1:15-cr-00083-NCT-3 Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999907650].. [15-4630]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 15-4630

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff – Appellee,
v.
OSCAR SILVA MARTINEZ,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle
District of North Carolina, at Greensboro.
N. Carlton Tilley,
Jr., Senior District Judge. (1:15-cr-00083-NCT-3)

Submitted:

July 28, 2016

Decided:

August 10, 2016

Before WILKINSON, MOTZ, and DIAZ, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Jenna Turner Blue, BLUE STEPHENS & FELLERS, LLP, Raleigh, North
Carolina, for Appellant. Ripley Rand, United States Attorney,
Randall S. Galyon, Assistant United States Attorney, Elissa
Hachmeister, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greensboro,
North Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Oscar Silva Martinez appeals his conviction, pursuant to a
guilty plea, for conspiracy to distribute cocaine hydrochloride,
in

violation

appeal,

of

21

Martinez

accepting

his

U.S.C.

argues

guilty

§§ 841(b)(1)(C),

that

plea

the

846

district

without

finding

supported by a sufficient factual basis.

(2012).

court

that

On

erred

the

in

plea

was

We affirm.

Because Martinez did not seek to withdraw his guilty plea,
“any error in the Rule 11 hearing is reviewed only for plain
error.”

United States v. Williams, 811 F.3d 621, 622 (4th Cir.

2016).

“In

order

to

satisfy

the

plain

error

standard

[a

defendant] must show: (1) an error was made; (2) the error is
plain;

and

United

States v.

2009).

In

substantial

(3)

the

the

error

affects

Massenburg,
context

rights

are

of

564
a

[his]
F.3d

Rule

affected

337,

11

when

substantial
342-43

appeal,

there

is

rights.”

(4th

Cir.

a

defendant’s

“a

reasonable

probability that, but for the error, he would not have entered
the

plea.”

Id.

at

343

(quoting

United

States

v.

Dominguez

Benitez, 542 U.S. 74, 83 (2004)).
Prior to “entering judgment on a guilty plea, the court
must determine that there is a factual basis for the plea.”
Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(b)(3).

This rule is “intended to ensure

that the court make clear exactly what a defendant admits to,
and

whether

those

admissions

are
2

factually

sufficient

to

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constitute the alleged crime.”
F.3d

652,

659-60

(4th

Cir.

United States v. Mastrapa, 509
2007)

(internal

quotation

marks

omitted).
The district court failed to find that a sufficient factual
basis supported Martinez’s guilty plea.

The court withheld such

a finding at the plea hearing, and failed to address the issue
at Martinez’s sentencing.

Thus, the court erred in failing to

find that Martinez’s guilty plea was supported by an independent
basis in fact containing each of the elements of the offenses,
and that error was plain.
However,
Martinez’s

we

conclude

substantial

that

rights.

the

error

Although

did

not

Martinez

affect

initially

denied agreeing to purchase five kilograms of cocaine, the facts
set forth in the presentence report (PSR), to which Martinez
withdrew his objection, show that he asked a coconspirator to
purchase five kilograms of cocaine from a confidential informant
on his behalf.
ultimately
Martinez

Moreover, the PSR stated that Martinez would

approve
was

conspiracy.

deeply

any

drug

purchase,

involved

in,

and

demonstrating
critical

to,

that
the

These facts establish that Martinez knew of the

drug conspiracy and actively participated in that conspiracy. *

*

To convict Martinez for conspiracy, the Government would
have to prove: “(1) an agreement between two or more persons to
engage in conduct that violates a federal drug law; (2) the
(Continued)
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Thus, the district court could have found that a factual basis
existed from the facts summarized in the PSR.
v.

Martinez,

277

F.3d

517,

531-32

(4th

See United States

Cir.

2002)

(holding

district court may consider anything that appears on record,
including facts in PSR, in finding factual basis).
Furthermore, Martinez’s admissions during the guilty plea
colloquy were sufficient to support his plea.
denied

making

admitted

that

a

deal

he

was

with

the

present

at,

Although Martinez

confidential
and

informant,

participated

in,

he
the

meeting between a coconspirator and the confidential informant,
and

that

he

agreed

to

assist

and/or distributing cocaine.

his

coconspirator

in

procuring

These admissions were sufficient

to provide a factual basis for Martinez’s guilty plea.

Because

there was a sufficient factual basis to support Martinez’s plea,
his

substantial

rights

were

not

affected

by

the

error.

Massenburg, 564 F.3d at 343.
Accordingly, we affirm Martinez’s conviction.

We dispense

with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are

defendant’s knowledge of the conspiracy; and (3) the defendant’s
knowing and voluntary participation in the conspiracy.”
United
States v. Green, 599 F.3d 360, 367 (4th Cir. 2010).

4

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adequately

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presented

in

the

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materials

before

this

court

and

argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED

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