Opinion
No. 05-4417.
Submitted: February 14, 2007.
Filed: February 22, 2007.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska.
Bruce Wellesley Gillan, U.S. Attorney's Office, Omaha, NE, for Appellee.
Todd L. Parde, Leavenworth, KS, pro se.
Thomas R. Lamb, Anderson Creager, Lincoln, NE, for Appellant.
Before RILEY, MAGILL, and MELLOY, Circuit Judges.
[UNPUBLISHED]
Todd L. Parde (Parde) pled guilty to conspiring to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine mixture, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. The district court sentenced him to the statutory minimum term of 120 months' imprisonment and five years' supervised release. On appeal, Parde argues the district court erred by denying his downward-departure motion under U.S.S.G. § 5K2.13. However, the district court was without authority to sentence him below the statutory minimum because the government did not file a substantial-assistance motion under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(e) and he was not eligible for safety-valve relief under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f). See United States v. Chacon, 330 F.3d 1065, 1066 (8th Cir. 2003). Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
The Honorable Richard G. Kopf, United States District Judge for the District of Nebraska.