United States v. Pedro Guillen-Cordova ( 2019 )

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 18-4845
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
PEDRO GUILLEN-CORDOVA, a/k/a Amigo,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at
Wilmington. Terrence W. Boyle, Chief District Judge. (7:18-cr-00025-BO-1)
Submitted: July 16, 2019 Decided: July 31, 2019
Before THACKER and HARRIS, Circuit Judges, and SHEDD, Senior Circuit Judge.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Jorgelina E. Araneda, ARANEDA LAW FIRM, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellant.
Brian A. Benczkowski, Assistant Attorney General, Matthew S. Miner, Deputy Assistant
Attorney General, Sonja M. Ralston, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
Washington, D.C.; Robert J. Higdon, Jr., United States Attorney, Jennifer May-Parker,
Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY,
Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Pedro Guillen-Cordova appeals the 180-month sentence imposed by the district
court following his guilty plea to possessing with intent to distribute five kilograms or
more of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a), 841(b)(1)(A)(ii) (2012); and
possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C.
§ 924(c)(1)(A)(i) (2012). On appeal, Guillen-Cordova challenges the constitutionality of
mandatory minimum sentences. But this challenge is squarely foreclosed by decisions of
the Supreme Court and this court. Chapman v. United States, 500 U.S. 453, 467 (1991)
(Congress has constitutional authority “to define criminal punishments without giving the
courts any sentencing discretion”); United States v. Bolding, 876 F.2d 21, 22 (4th
Cir. 1989) (“It is undisputed that Congress may enact mandatory and determinate
sentencing laws . . . .”); see Stokeling v. United States, 139 S. Ct. 544, 555 (2019).
Accordingly, we conclude that the district court did not err in sentencing
Guillen-Cordova to the applicable mandatory minimum sentences, and we affirm the
district court’s criminal judgment. 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
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