United States v. Jose Villarreal-Cardenas

Case: 18-40737 Document: 00514780376 Page: 1 Date Filed: 01/03/2019
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
No. 18-40737 January 3, 2019
Summary Calendar
Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee
v.
JOSE GUADALUPE VILLARREAL-CARDENAS,
Defendant-Appellant
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 7:18-CR-144-1
Before JOLLY, COSTA, and HO, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM: *
Jose Guadalupe Villarreal-Cardenas appeals his guilty-plea conviction
for importation of 500 grams or more of methamphetamine. He argues that
the factual basis for his guilty plea was insufficient because the Government
did not prove that he knew the type and quantity of the controlled substance
involved in his offense.
* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH
CIR. R. 47.5.4.
Case: 18-40737 Document: 00514780376 Page: 2 Date Filed: 01/03/2019
No. 18-40737
As Villarreal-Cardenas concedes, his argument is foreclosed by United
States v. Betancourt, 586 F.3d 303, 308-09 (5th Cir. 2009), which held that
Flores-Figueroa v. United States, 556 U.S. 646 (2009), did not overturn United
States v. Gamez-Gonzalez, 319 F.3d 695 (5th Cir. 2003), and that the
Government is not required to prove knowledge of the drug type and quantity
as an element of a 21 U.S.C. § 841 drug trafficking offense. Likewise,
knowledge of drug type and quantity is not an element that must be proven for
an offense under the related drug importation statutes of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952(a)
and 960(a). United States v. Restrepo-Granda, 575 F.2d 524, 527 (5th Cir.
1978); see United States v. Valencia-Gonzales, 172 F.3d 344, 345-46 (5th Cir.
1999). Thus, the Government was not required to prove that Villarreal-
Cardenas knew the type and quantity of the controlled substance involved in
his drug importation offense.
Accordingly, Villarreal-Cardenas’s motion for summary disposition is
GRANTED, and the district court’s judgment is AFFIRMED.
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