United States v. Cortez ( 2021 )

Case: 20-20394 Document: 00515857895 Page: 1 Date Filed: 05/11/2021
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
May 11, 2021
No. 20-20394
Lyle W. Cayce
Summary Calendar Clerk
United States of America,
Plaintiff—Appellee,
versus
Samuel David Cortez,
Defendant—Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 4:19-CR-559-1
Before Davis, Stewart, and Dennis, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam:*
Samuel David Cortez pleaded guilty, pursuant to a plea agreement, to
a superseding criminal information charging him with three counts of
interference with commerce by robbery and one count of attempted
interference with commerce by robbery. The district court sentenced Cortez
*
Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this
opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited
circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4.
Case: 20-20394 Document: 00515857895 Page: 2 Date Filed: 05/11/2021
No. 20-20394
to concurrent terms of 121 months of imprisonment and three years of
supervised release. Cortez argues that the Government plainly breached the
plea agreement by failing to request dismissal of the original indictment at
sentencing.
“The Government must strictly adhere to the terms and conditions of
its promises in a plea agreement.” United States v. Harper, 643 F.3d 135, 139
(5th Cir. 2011). Based on our review of the record and the briefs, including
the Government’s concession of reversible error, we agree that Cortez is
entitled to relief. See id. Accordingly, the case is REMANDED to the
district court for the limited purpose of entering a corrected judgment
reflecting dismissal of the original indictment. The judgment is
AFFIRMED in all other respects.
2