Summary
affirming district court's application of § 2L1.1(b) enhancement when defendant transported fourteen individuals in a car rated for seven passengers, nine of the passengers were unrestrained in the cargo area, and defendant was speeding on a busy highway
Summary of this case from United States v. MunozOpinion
No. 14-40847
05-08-2015
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee v. CESAR CARDONA-LOPEZ, Defendant-Appellant
Summary Calendar Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 2:14-CR-51
Before DAVIS, CLEMENT, and COSTA, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:
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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.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.
Cesar Cardona-Lopez pleaded guilty to two counts of transportation of an undocumented alien. He was sentenced to concurrent terms of 21 months of imprisonment. He argues that the district court clearly erred in adjusting his sentence for transporting aliens in a way that created a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury. Citing United States v. Solis-Garcia, 420 F.3d 511 (5th Cir. 2005), and United States v. Zuniga-Amezquita, 468 F.3d 886 (5th Cir. 2006), he argues that his passengers had access to oxygen, were protected from the weather, could communicate with the driver, and could exit the vehicle quickly. Because the danger posed if an accident occurred was no greater than a passenger not wearing a seatbelt, Cardona-Lopez asserts, the adjustment to his sentence was not warranted.
This court reviews the district court's application of the Sentencing Guidelines de novo and its findings of fact for clear error. United States v. Cuyler, 298 F.3d 387, 389 (5th Cir. 2002). It is undisputed that Cardona-Lopez was transporting 14 individuals in a vehicle rated to carry seven passengers and that nine of his passengers were unrestrained in the cargo area of the minivan. Unlike the defendant in Solis-Garcia, Cardona-Lopez was "carrying substantially more passengers than the rated capacity of a motor vehicle." See U.S.S.G. § 2L1.1(b)(6), comment. (n.5). Moreover, Cardona-Lopez does not dispute that he was speeding on a busy section of Highway 77 while transporting the unrestrained passengers. In light of these additional aggravating factors, the district court's application of the § 2L1.1(b)(6) adjustment was not erroneous.
AFFIRMED.