Summary
affirming § 2L1.1(b) enhancement when defendant transported fifteen passengers in a vehicle rated to carry seven passengers and thirteen of the passengers lacked safety restraints and were lying on top of each other
Summary of this case from United States v. MunozOpinion
No. 09-10538. Summary Calendar.
February 18, 2010.
Denise B. Williams, U.S. Attorney's Office, Lubbock, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Jason Douglas Hawkins, Federal Public Defender's Office, Dallas, TX, David E. Sloan, Federal Public Defender's Office, Lubbock, TX, for Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, USDC No. 1:08-CR-72-1.
Before JOLLY, WIENER, and ELROD, Circuit Judges.
Defendant-Appellant Ernesto Hernandez-Perez appeals his 24-month sentence for transporting illegal aliens for financial gain. The district court enhanced the sentence pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2L1.1(b)(6) after it determined that Hernandez-Perez intentionally or recklessly created a substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to the aliens he transported. Hernandez-Perez contends that the circumstances of his offense do not warrant the sentence enhancement.
We review a district court's interpretation of the Guidelines de novo and reviews its factual findings for clear error. See United States v. Solis-Garcia, 420 F.3d 511, 514 (5th Cir. 2005). It is undisputed that Hernandez-Perez transported fifteen persons in a vehicle rated to carry seven passengers and that thirteen of his passengers lacked safety restraints and were "lying on top of each other" in the vehicle's rear compartment. As the commentary to § 2L1.1 gives "carrying substantially more passengers than the rated capacity of a motor vehicle or vessel" as an example of reckless conduct that would support a sentence enhancement under that Guideline, we perceive no error in Hernandez-Perez's sentence. See § 2L1.1, comment. (n. 5).
AFFIRMED.