Opinion
No. 13-10443
02-29-2016
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. SERGIO MENDEZ, Defendant - Appellant.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
D.C. No. 2:11-cr-00356-KJM MEMORANDUM Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California
Kimberly J. Mueller, District Judge, Presiding Before: LEAVY, FERNANDEZ, RAWLINSON, Circuit Judges.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
Sergio Mendez appeals from the district court's judgment and challenges the 262-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for conspiracy to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.
Mendez argues that the district court procedurally erred by misunderstanding its sentencing discretion and presuming a Guideline sentence was reasonable. We review for plain error, see United States v. Dallman, 533 F.3d 755, 761 (9th Cir. 2008), and find none. Even if the district court's ambiguous statement at the sentencing hearing regarding the other branches of government constitutes error, Mendez has not shown that the error affected his substantial rights. See id. In light of the district court's discussion of the aggravating and mitigating factors in Mendez's case, he has not shown a reasonable probability that he would have received a different sentence absent the alleged error. See id. at 762.
AFFIRMED.