Opinion
No. 13-50246 D.C. No. 3:12-cr-05197-LAB
11-19-2013
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. RAFAEL ESQUIVEL-CASTANEDA, Defendant - Appellant.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
MEMORANDUM
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of California
Larry A. Burns, District Judge, Presiding
Before: CANBY, TROTT, and THOMAS, Circuit Judges.
Rafael Esquivel-Castaneda appeals from the district court's judgment and challenges the 12-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for bringing in illegal aliens without presentation and aiding and abetting, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(2)(B)(iii) and 18 U.S.C. § 2. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.
Esquivel-Castaneda contends that the district court erred by imposing a two-level increase for using a minor to commit the crime under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.4. We review for clear error. See United States v. Preciado, 506 F.3d 808, 810 (9th Cir. 2007) (per curiam). The district court did not clearly err in finding that Esquivel-Castaneda affirmatively used his children in his crime. See id. (evidence that defendant "brought children along to a previously planned crime supports a finding that the minors were used to avoid detection").
AFFIRMED.