United States v. Francisco Uribe-Redondo

[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FILED
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
________________________ ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
AUG 8 2007
No. 07-10966 THOMAS K. KAHN
Non-Argument Calendar CLERK
________________________
D. C. Docket No. 06-00384-CR-T-24-TGW
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
FRANCISCO URIBE-REDONDO,
Defendant-Appellant.
________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Florida
_________________________
(August 8, 2007)
Before TJOFLAT, ANDERSON and BARKETT, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
On pleas of guilty, the district court sentenced appellant to concurrent prison
terms of 135 months for conspiring to possess while aboard a vessel subject to the
jurisdiction of the United States five kilograms or more of cocaine with intent to
distribute, and for possessing such cocaine aboard the same vessel with intent to
distribute. He now appeals his sentences, contending that his sentences are
unreasonable because the district court, in determining his sentence range under the
Guidelines, erred in refusing to adjust the offense level downward under U.S.S.G.
§ 3B1.2(b) for his having been a minor participant in the criminal activity. We
find no error and accordingly affirm.
The facts underlying appellant’s offenses are these. On September 10, 2006,
a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter spotted a “go-fast” boat in the Caribbean Sea. As it
approached, those aboard the boat began to jettison bales of cocaine – even as the
helicopter fired warning shots. Further shots disabled the boat, and a Coast Guard
cutter approached. A boarding party boarded the boat, arrested appellant and five
other men, and recovered thirty-seven bales of cocaine weighing approximately
840 kilograms. Appellant and the others each gave a post-arrest statement.
Appellant stated that he had been recruited by Don Pedro, a Colombian, to pilot the
go-fast boat to Haiti.
At sentencing, appellant acknowledged that he had been recruited to pilot
the go-fast boat and was to have been paid between 20 million and 40 million
pesos for doing so. Aside from being the boat’s captain, he said that his duties
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were the same as those of the other crewmen. He asked the court to reduce the
offense level under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2(b), but, as noted above, the court refused to
do so.
In his brief to us, appellant contends that the court should have granted the §
3B1.2(b) reduction because he was less culpable than unindicted co-conspirators –
that is, his role was minor when compared to the roles played by those involved in
the entire drug trafficking network. He was not an organizer, leader, manager, or
supervisor of the criminal activity.
A defendant “who is less culpable than most other participants, but whose
role could not be described as minimal” is entitled to a two-level reduction for his
minor role. U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2(b), comment. (n.5). The defendant bears the burden
of proving that he played a minor role in the offense by a preponderance of the
evidence. United States v. De Varon, 175 F.3d 930, 939 (11th Cir. 1999) (en
banc).
A district court applies a two-prong test in making a mitigating role
determination. Id. at 940-45. The first prong “measure[s] the defendant's role
against the relevant conduct for which [he] has been held accountable.” Id. at 940.
“Where the relevant conduct attributed to a defendant is identical to [his] actual
conduct, [he] cannot prove that [he] is entitled to a minor role adjustment simply
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by pointing to some broader criminal scheme in which [he] was a minor participant
but for which [he] was not held accountable.” Id. at 941. The first prong of De
Varon is often dispositive of the issue. See id. at 945.
The second prong involves the comparison of the defendant’s conduct to that
of the other participants in the conduct for which the defendant was held
accountable. Id. at 944. Even if a defendant can show that his role was less than
that of other participants, this “may not be dispositive of role in the offense, since it
is possible that none are minor or minimal participants.” Id.The record supports the district court's finding that the conduct attributed to
appellant was identical to his actual conduct and that he was not substantially less
culpable than the other crew members on the go-fast boat. He was only held
accountable for the quantity of cocaine found on his boat; the existence of a larger
drug trafficking conspiracy was irrelevant. Further, while appellant asserts that his
role was less than that of the person who was actually captaining the go-fast boat at
the time the helicopter spotted it, this did not preclude the court from finding that
his role was not minor.
In sum, the court committed no error in denying the § 3B1.2(b) downward
adjustment. It therefore follows that appellant’s sentences are not unreasonable.
AFFIRMED.
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