United States v. Jacques , 555 F. App'x 41 ( 2014 )


Menu:
  • 10-3677(L)
    United States v. Jacques
    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE SECOND CIRCUIT
    SUMMARY ORDER
    RULINGS BY SUMMARY ORDER DO NOT HAVE PRECEDENTIAL EFFECT. CITATION TO A
    SUMMARY ORDER FILED ON OR AFTER JANUARY 1, 2007, IS PERMITTED AND IS GOVERNED BY
    FEDERAL RULE OF APPELLATE PROCEDURE 32.1 AND THIS COURT=S LOCAL RULE 32.1.1. WHEN
    CITING A SUMMARY ORDER IN A DOCUMENT FILED WITH THIS COURT, A PARTY MUST CITE
    EITHER THE FEDERAL APPENDIX OR AN ELECTRONIC DATABASE (WITH THE NOTATION
    ASUMMARY ORDER@). A PARTY CITING A SUMMARY ORDER MUST SERVE A COPY OF IT ON
    ANY PARTY NOT REPRESENTED BY COUNSEL.
    At a stated term of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, held at
    the Thurgood Marshall United States Courthouse, 40 Foley Square, in the City of New
    York, on the 6th day of February, two thousand fourteen.
    PRESENT: REENA RAGGI,
    DENNY CHIN,
    CHRISTOPHER F. DRONEY,
    Circuit Judges.
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Appellee,
    v.                                                      No. 10-3677(L)
    No. 11-1083(CON)
    GARY JACQUES, also known as PAPAI SHAMPOO,                               No. 11-1099(CON)
    also known as RALPH, CESAR POLANCO, also                                 No. 11-1146(CON)
    known as PECHON, also known as ―PATRONE,‖
    also known as PACHONG, also known as ―PETION,‖
    ROBERT ALEXANDER GUERRERO, also known as
    AL, also known as ALEX,
    Defendants-Appellants,
    ANSY GUERRIER, also known as LUCKY, also
    known as ANDRE,
    Defendant.
    1
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Appellee,
    v.                                                  No. 11-1083
    ROBERT GUERRERO,
    Defendant-Appellant,
    GARY JACQUES, ANSY GUERRIER, ALISON
    EDELMAN, MICHAEL MCENROE, LAWRENCE
    ALBERS, AL CASSIANO, JR., SANDRA SAM, RONY
    PHILIPPE          EXANTUS,            JOHANNY            MENDEZ,
    VIANNEY DEL ROSARIO, VICTOR GUERRERO,
    JEFFREY JACQUES,
    Defendants.*
    ----------------------------------------------------------------------
    APPEARING FOR APPELLANTS:                         ROBERT J. BOYLE, New York, New York, for
    Appellant Gary Jacques.
    MICHAEL O. HUESTON, ESQ., New York,
    New York, for Appellant Robert Guerrero.
    Marjorie M. Smith, Piermont, New York, for
    Appellant Cesar Polanco.
    APPEARING FOR APPELLEE:                           PAUL TUCHMANN (Peter A. Norling, on the
    brief), Assistant United States Attorneys, for
    Loretta E. Lynch, United States Attorney for the
    Eastern District of New York, Brooklyn,
    New York
    Appeal from judgments of the United States District Court for the Eastern District
    of New York (Nina Gershon, Judge).
    UPON DUE CONSIDERATION, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED,
    AND DECREED that the appeal of Cesar Polanco from a judgment entered on September
    *
    The Clerk of Court is directed to amend the official caption as shown above.
    2
    1, 2010, is DISMISSED in part and the judgment is AFFIRMED in part, and that the
    judgments entered on March 8, 2011, with respect to Gary Jacques, and March 18, 2011,
    with respect to Robert Guerrero, are AFFIRMED.
    Defendant Jacques stands convicted after trial of substantive and conspiratorial
    importation and possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine, in
    violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(B)(ii)(II), 846, 952(a), 960(b)(2)(B)(ii),
    963. Defendant Guerrero stands convicted after a guilty plea on the same substantive and
    conspiratorial cocaine possession crimes.1 On this appeal, Jacques charges the district
    court with various evidentiary and instructional errors at trial. Both men contend that
    their prison sentences—228 months for Jacques and 156 months for Guerrero—are
    infected by procedural error and are substantively unreasonable. Defendant Polanco,
    convicted after a guilty plea of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute at least five
    kilograms of cocaine, see 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(b)(1)(A)(ii)(II), 846, filed a timely notice of
    appeal, but his attorney now moves to withdraw pursuant to Anders v. California, 
    386 U.S. 738
    (1967), and the government moves to dismiss the appeal.
    We assume the parties‘ familiarity with the facts and the record of prior
    proceedings, which we reference only as necessary to explain our decision to affirm
    Jacques‘s and Guerrero‘s judgments of conviction and to dismiss Polanco‘s appeal in part
    and otherwise to affirm his judgment of conviction.
    1
    Both men also stand convicted after guilty pleas of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, but
    as they raise no appellate challenge to that part of the judgment, we do not address it
    further.
    3
    1.    Jacques‘s Trial Challenges
    a.     Evidentiary Rulings
    i.     Miranda Error
    Jacques asserts that the district court admitted four statements the government
    obtained from him after he was advised of his rights and invoked his right to counsel,
    thereby violating Miranda v. Arizona, 
    384 U.S. 436
    (1966).          The first challenged
    statement pertained to Jacques‘s request for counsel: ―Look, I want to talk to you guys,
    but I want Mike [his lawyer] present here because I want to know how much time it‘s going
    to take off my sentence.‖ Trial Tr. 858:7–9, Jacques App. 188. The second statement
    was made in response to a government agent‘s inquiry as to who ―Mike‖ was, to which
    Jacques replied, ―Arbite,‖ an attorney known to the agent. 
    Id. 858:10–13, Jacques
    App.
    188. The third statement reiterated Jacques‘s willingness to cooperate, but only with
    counsel present: ―Look, I don‘t care. We can do this in the basement of the court house
    then. I‘ll talk to you in a private area, but I just want to have Mike there but I‘ll
    cooperate.‖ 
    Id. 858:17–20, Jacques
    App. 188. The final statement, made in response to
    an agent‘s inquiry as to whether ―there [is] anything that we can do right now?‖, asked
    about making telephone calls from the agent‘s office and expressed Jacques‘s wish that he
    had been arrested a few days earlier before his children had gone to Haiti because ―if the
    guys in Haiti find out that I‘m the one who cooperated, then you know what time it is for
    my children.‖ 
    Id. 858:21–860:1, Jacques
    App. 188–89.
    4
    At the outset, we note that Jacques appears to have waived, or at least forfeited, any
    challenge he might have to the admission of these statements by failing to move for their
    suppression before trial according to the schedule set by the district court. See Fed. R.
    Crim. P. 12(e). That conclusion is particularly warranted where, as here, the district court
    allowed Jacques to file a belated motion to suppress statements during trial, and even
    granted the motion in part, but Jacques failed to include the statements he now challenges
    even in that belated filing. See United States v. Yousef, 
    327 F.3d 56
    , 125 (2d Cir. 2003)
    (declining to address merits of unpreserved suppression motion on appeal where defense
    raised ―two other grounds for suppression‖ during pre-trial suppression proceedings).
    Even if we were to review Jacques‘s waived Miranda claim for plain error,
    however, Jacques would not be entitled to any relief. His first and third statements were
    not made in response to interrogation, but were volunteered and, thus, ―not barred by the
    Fifth Amendment.‖ Miranda v. 
    Arizona, 384 U.S. at 478
    ; see Edwards v. Arizona, 
    451 U.S. 477
    , 484–85 (1981) (holding that accused who has expressed ―desire to deal with the
    police only through counsel, is not subject to further interrogation by the authorities until
    counsel has been made available to him, unless the accused himself initiates further
    communication, exchanges, or conversations with the police‖ (emphasis added)).
    Although Jacques‘s second statement was in response to a police inquiry, Miranda
    concerns do not arise with respect to such a question because it ―‗does nothing more than
    seek clarification of what the defendant has already volunteered.‘‖ United States v.
    Rommy, 
    506 F.3d 108
    , 132–33 (2d Cir. 2007) (quoting 2 LaFave et al., Criminal Procedure
    5
    § 6.7(d), at 567 (2d ed. 1999)). Thus, the only statement whose admission appears to have
    violated Miranda is the last. As the government concedes, Campaneria v. Reid, 
    891 F.2d 1014
    , 1021–22 (2d Cir. 1989), holds that once a defendant has invoked the right to counsel,
    police statements aimed at changing a defendant‘s mind on that subject violate Miranda,
    rendering statements elicited thereby inadmissible.
    But even if the admission of the fourth statement satisfied the first two prongs of
    plain error analysis, i.e., error that is clear or obvious rather than subject to reasonable
    dispute, it cannot satisfy the final two prongs, i.e., error affecting the outcome of the trial
    and seriously affecting the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings.
    See United States v. Marcus, 
    130 S. Ct. 2159
    , 2164 (2010); United States v. Agrawal, 
    726 F.3d 235
    , 250 (2d Cir. 2013). This is because the other, admissible evidence of Jacques‘s
    culpability, including other admissions made by him, so overwhelmingly established guilt
    as to leave us with no doubt that the statement about making telephone calls and the risk to
    Jacques‘s children did not affect the outcome of the trial. See United States v. 
    Rommy, 506 F.3d at 136
    (concluding any erroneous admission of defendant‘s statement was
    ―plainly harmless in light of other overwhelming evidence of guilt‖).
    Accordingly, we conclude that Jacques‘s Miranda challenge warrants no relief.
    ii.    Discretionary Rulings
    We review Jacques‘s three other evidentiary challenges only for abuse of discretion,
    which is not evident here. See United States v. Bell, 
    584 F.3d 478
    , 486 (2d Cir. 2009).
    6
    First, although Jacques complains that re-direct examination of witness Paul
    Lilavois about filings in another case in which he was already sentenced impermissibly
    insinuated to the jury that the sentencing judge had found the witness to be cooperative and
    truthful, the district court adequately ensured against that possibility by instructing the jury
    that Lilavois‘s testimony about the filings could only be considered for its description of
    his prior illegal activities. See United States v. Spinelli, 
    551 F.3d 159
    , 168–69 (2d Cir.
    2008) (cautioning against eliciting reason for cooperator‘s sentence, but identifying no
    error where evidence before the jury did not reveal sentencing judge‘s reasons). Courts
    assume that juries follow limiting instructions, and this case presents us with no reason to
    think otherwise. See Greer v. Miller, 
    483 U.S. 756
    , 766 n.8 (1987); see also United States
    v. Cadet, 
    664 F.3d 27
    , 33 (2d Cir. 2011) (presuming that jury followed instruction to
    consider evidence only for permissible purpose). Thus, the district court did not abuse its
    discretion in denying Jacques‘s motion for a mistrial. See United States v. Deandrade,
    
    600 F.3d 115
    , 118 (2d Cir. 2010).
    Second, insofar as the government attempted to elicit hearsay testimony from a
    federal agent to explain an inconsistency between his testimony and that of cooperating
    witness Wilfredo Guerrero, the district court acted well within its discretion in ensuring
    against prejudice by instructing the jury to disregard that testimony entirely. See United
    States v. Mussaleen, 
    35 F.3d 692
    , 695 (2d Cir. 1994).
    Third, evidence of Jacques‘s drug trafficking in Turks and Caicos reasonably fell
    within the charged conspiracies and, thus, reflects no evidentiary error. See United States
    7
    v. Baez, 
    349 F.3d 90
    , 93 (2d Cir. 2003) (―[W]here . . . a conspiracy is charged, uncharged
    acts may be admissible as direct evidence of the conspiracy itself.‖ (internal quotation
    marks omitted)).
    Accordingly, Jacques fails to show any abuse of discretion in the district court‘s
    evidentiary rulings.
    b.     Charging Challenge
    Jacques submits that the district court erred in charging the jury that if it found that
    he fled the United States after he believed he was about to be charged with one of the
    crimes for which he was standing trial, the jury could—but was not required to—infer
    defendant‘s consciousness of guilt.      While we usually review a preserved charging
    challenge de novo to determine if the charge as a whole indicates prejudicial error, see
    United States v. Ghailani, 
    733 F.3d 29
    , 52 (2d Cir. 2013), we accord considerable
    deference to trial court decisions to instruct on ―drawing an inference of a guilty mind from
    flight,‖ United States v. Mundy, 
    539 F.3d 154
    , 156 (2d Cir. 2008), provided there is ―a
    satisfactory factual predicate‖ from which a reasonable jury could draw the inference,
    United States v. Al-Sadawi, 
    432 F.3d 419
    , 424 (2d Cir. 2005).
    Jacques submits that the record here did not admit a predicate of flight because no
    warrant had been publicly issued and the evidence did not otherwise show that he knew he
    was about to be charged.       In fact, considerable evidence supported an inference of
    knowing flight. A cooperating witness testified that on the same day that Lilavois was
    arrested at John F. Kennedy International Airport for possession of cocaine that Jacques
    8
    had paid him to transport, Jacques told the witness of the arrest, his plan to speak with a
    lawyer, and his intent to leave the United States—which he did. That same day, Jacques
    made veiled threats to Lilavois that implied Jacques knew that Lilavois had been arrested
    and was cooperating with authorities. Further, upon Jacques‘s return to this country in
    July 2008, he told a federal agent that living as a fugitive ―wears you down.‖ Trial Tr.
    851:1–2, Jacques App. 181. This evidence, by itself, would permit a jury to infer that
    Jacques, with consciousness of his guilty involvement in a drug trafficking scheme of
    which Lilavois was only one participant, fled the United States immediately after
    Lilavois‘s arrest to avoid facing the very criminal charges for which he ultimately stood
    trial.
    The fact that Jacques frequently traveled internationally for legitimate reasons and
    was likely unaware of the specific criminal charges that might be lodged against him did
    not detract from the established factual predicate for charging the jury on the inference of
    consciousness of guilt that could be drawn from flight. See United States v. Amuso, 
    21 F.3d 1251
    , 1258 (2d Cir. 1994) (holding that where evidence of flight passes ―threshold
    inquiry of relevance, the accepted technique is for the judge to receive the evidence and
    permit the defendant to bring in evidence in denial or explanation‖ (internal quotation
    marks and alterations omitted)). Nor does United States v. Mundy warrant a different
    conclusion. There, we held only that a district judge did not err in declining to instruct the
    jury at one defendant‘s request about the flight of a 
    co-defendant. 539 F.3d at 156
    .
    While we acknowledged in ―dictum‖ that flight charges had ―fallen into widespread
    9
    disfavor,‖ and encouraged district courts, when presented with objections to requested
    flight charges, ―to think carefully on whether any benefit from the giving of the charge
    would outweigh the potential harms,‖ we also recognized that we had frequently ruled that
    the giving of such an instruction is ―not error.‖ 
    Id. at 158.
    Here, there is no reason to
    think that the district court did not carefully consider its decision to give the challenged
    instruction or that it abused its discretion in doing so. Indeed, although Jacques explicitly
    waived any challenge to the substance of the charge by declining an invitation to submit
    alternative language, see generally United States v. Quinones, 
    511 F.3d 289
    , 320–21 (2d
    Cir. 2007) (discussing ―true waiver‖ doctrine), we note that the charge is balanced in a way
    consistent with a leading treatise, see 1 L. Sand, et al., Modern Federal Jury
    Instructions—Criminal § 6.05 (2007), and previously sanctioned by this court, see United
    States v. 
    Amuso, 21 F.3d at 1259
    .
    Thus, we conclude that Jacques‘s charging challenge fails on the merits.
    2.      Jacques‘s and Guerrero‘s Sentencing Challenges
    We review defendants‘ sentences for ―reasonableness,‖ ―a particularly deferential form
    of abuse-of-discretion review‖ that we apply both to the procedures used to arrive at the
    sentence and to the substantive length of the sentence. United States v. Cavera, 
    550 F.3d 180
    , 188 n.5 (2d Cir. 2008) (en banc); accord United States v. Broxmeyer, 
    699 F.3d 265
    ,
    278 (2d Cir. 2012).
    10
    a.     Procedural Challenges
    i.     Jacques
    Invoking Apprendi v. New Jersey, 
    530 U.S. 466
    (2000), and Alleyne v. United
    States, 
    133 S. Ct. 2151
    (2013), Jacques charges the district court with procedural error in
    finding him responsible for trafficking five to fifteen kilograms of cocaine for purposes of
    calculating his Sentencing Guidelines range when the trial jury convicted him only of
    participating in a conspiracy to traffic between 500 grams and five kilograms of cocaine.
    In any event, he argues that the district court‘s finding was clearly erroneous.
    We need not reach the merits of Jacques‘s Apprendi/Alleyne argument because he
    expressly conceded below that the district court was authorized to determine drug quantity
    regardless of the jury‘s verdict. See Sentencing Tr. 5:22–6:2, Jacques App. 383–84 (―I
    think, obviously, your Honor can find that [drug quantity] range by a preponderance. . . . I
    recognize your Honor has the authority to find that range.‖); see also United States v.
    
    Quinones, 511 F.3d at 320
    –21. Even on plain error review, however, Jacques‘s Sixth
    Amendment challenge fails because the district court‘s drug quantity determination
    affected only the calculation of non-binding Guidelines, not a statutory minimum or
    maximum penalty. The Supreme Court recognized as much in Alleyne, stating that the
    Sixth Amendment does not apply to ―factfinding used to guide judicial discretion in
    selecting a punishment within limits fixed by law,‖ even though ―such findings of fact may
    lead judges to select sentences that are more severe than the ones they would have selected
    without those 
    facts.‖ 133 S. Ct. at 2161
    n.2 (internal quotation marks and citation
    11
    omitted). This comports with our own earlier precedent in United States v. Vaughn, 
    430 F.3d 518
    , 528 (2d Cir. 2005) (Sotomayor, J.), which observed that ―the Supreme Court
    made clear in Booker that when a judge sentences a defendant within the statutory range
    authorized by the jury verdict and uses advisory Guidelines to calculate that sentence, there
    is no Sixth Amendment violation.‖
    Nor do we identify clear error in the district court‘s drug quantity finding given that
    court‘s discretion to credit the numerous cooperating witnesses who testified to Jacques‘s
    substantial involvement in narcotics conspiracies trafficking in even larger quantities of
    cocaine. See United States v. Nuzzo, 
    385 F.3d 109
    , 118 (2d Cir. 2004) (―[W]e owe a
    district court deference with respect to factual findings [at sentencing], especially those
    based on witness credibility.‖).
    ii.    Guerrero
    Guerrero faults the district court for failing to afford him an evidentiary hearing to
    contest the Guidelines‘ enhancements for drug quantity, see U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(c)(3), and
    leadership role, see 
    id. § 3B1.1(a).
    ―[I]t is well established that a district court need not
    hold an evidentiary hearing to resolve sentencing disputes, as long as the defendant is
    afforded some opportunity to rebut the Government‘s allegations.‖ United States v.
    
    Broxmeyer, 699 F.3d at 280
    (internal quotation marks omitted).            Indeed, because a
    sentencing judge may rely on hearsay, the opportunity to submit documentary evidence
    and argument by counsel is typically sufficient. See 
    id. 12 Although
    the record support for the challenged enhancements is ample, Guerrero
    submits that a hearing was necessary to allow him to attack the credibility of government
    witnesses who were the source of relevant information. We are not persuaded. At the
    district court‘s direction, the government disclosed the identities of informants who
    provided information as to drug quantity and role. The district court invited Guerrero to
    introduce any evidence, whether from Guerrero himself or otherwise, to dispute the
    witness‘s credibility generally or the specific information they provided. He adduced
    none. On this record, and in light of defense counsel‘s ability to argue credibility, we
    cannot conclude that the district court abused its discretion in not holding a hearing. See
    
    id. Guerrero also
    raises an Apprendi/Alleyne challenge to the district court‘s role
    determination, which deprived him of eligibility for a below-mandatory-minimum
    sentence pursuant to the ―safety valve‖ of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f).2 Because Guerrero did not
    lodge an Apprendi objection below, our review is limited to plain error, which we do not
    identify here. See United States v. Uddin, 
    551 F.3d 176
    , 181 (2d Cir. 2009).
    Indeed, Alleyne lends no support to Guerrero‘s Apprendi argument because the
    Supreme Court there expressly stated that ―the Sixth Amendment applies where a finding
    of fact both alters the legally prescribed range and does so in a way that aggravates the
    2
    Insofar as Guerrero faults the district court for placing the burden on him to prove
    eligibility for safety valve relief, that argument, raised for the first time in a footnote, is not
    properly presented for our review. See United States v. Botti, 
    711 F.3d 299
    , 313 (2d Cir.
    2013) (noting that settled appellate rule that issues adverted to in perfunctory manner are
    deemed waived applies with ―particular force‖ to argument made ―only in a footnote‖).
    13
    penalty.‖ Alleyne v. United 
    States, 133 S. Ct. at 2161
    n.2 (emphasis in original). Thus,
    facts that increase a statutory mandatory minimum sentence must be determined by the
    jury beyond a reasonable doubt. See 
    id. 2162–63. But
    the inverse does not follow;
    neither Apprendi nor Alleyne instructs that facts that prevent a defendant from avoiding the
    statutory minimum penalty authorized by the jury‘s verdict must also be found by the jury.
    We drew this distinction in United States v. Holguin, 
    436 F.3d 111
    , 117 (2d Cir.
    2006), which holds that ―judicial fact-finding as to whether a defendant was a supervisor or
    leader (and thus barred from or entitled to safety valve relief) does not permit a higher
    maximum sentence to be imposed,‖ but no Sixth Amendment concern arises where ―the
    only effect of the judicial fact-finding is either to reduce a defendant‘s sentencing range or
    to leave the sentencing range alone, not to increase it.‖ (original emphasis deleted). Thus,
    because judicial determination of Guerrero‘s role in the offense raised neither the
    applicable statutory minimum nor maximum penalty, his Sixth Amendment claim fails.
    b.     Substantive Challenges
    In challenging the substantive reasonableness of their sentences, defendants bear a
    heavy burden because we will set aside a district court‘s substantive determination only in
    exceptional cases where the trial court‘s decision ―cannot be located within the range of
    permissible decisions,‖ United States v. 
    Cavera, 550 F.3d at 189
    (internal quotation marks
    omitted), and we recognize that a broad range of sentences can be reasonable in a particular
    case, see United States v. Jones, 
    531 F.3d 163
    , 174 (2d Cir. 2008). Thus, we do not
    substitute our own judgment for that of the sentencing court; we ask only whether
    14
    challenged sentences are so ―shockingly high, shockingly low, or otherwise unsupportable
    as a matter of law,‖ that allowing them to stand would ―damage the administration of
    justice.‖ United States v. Rigas, 
    583 F.3d 108
    , 123 (2d Cir. 2009); accord United States v.
    
    Broxmeyer, 699 F.3d at 289
    . The sentences in this case raise no such concern.
    i.     Jacques
    We focus first on Jacques‘s 228-month sentence, a downward departure from the
    low-end of his 235-293 month Guidelines range based on seven months‘ incarceration
    served in Turks and Caicos. This sentence cannot be deemed substantively unreasonable
    in light of Jacques‘s participation in schemes to import and possess multi-kilogram
    quantities of cocaine. Although Jacques protests the Guidelines‘ ―over-emphasis on drug
    quantity,‖ Jacques Br. 61, this does not detract from their validity. In any event, the
    crimes of conviction were aggravated by the fact that Jacques‘ participation spanned many
    years during which he played a leadership role. Moreover, when Jacques was charged
    with drug trafficking in Turks and Caicos, he jumped bail and continued to participate in
    the charged conspiracies while a fugitive. Further showing Jacques‘s disrespect for the
    law, he failed to abide by the terms of his home confinement while on bail awaiting trial,
    engaged in wire fraud in relation to a mortgage fraud scheme, and threatened two persons
    whom he suspected of cooperating in this case. Jacques may dispute the threat accounts
    but the district court found them credible, a matter well within its discretion. See United
    States v. 
    Nuzzo, 385 F.3d at 118
    .
    15
    Insofar as Jacques emphasizes his positive characteristics, we have no reason to
    think they were overlooked by the district court, and we cannot conclude that they are so
    compelling as to take the sentence outside the permissible range available to the district
    court.
    ii.    Guerrero
    We reach the same conclusion with respect to Guerrero‘s total prison sentence of
    156 months, a downward variance from his 168-210 month Guidelines range based on
    personal history and characteristics. While Guerrero contends that the district court
    should have accorded more mitigating weight to these factors, we cannot say that the
    district court‘s decision was so unreasonable in light of the totality of circumstances as to
    manifest an abuse of discretion. See United States v. Fernandez, 
    443 F.3d 19
    , 32 (2d Cir.
    2006). Nor are we persuaded otherwise by Guerrero‘s assertions that the district court
    failed to consider his confinement conditions at the Metropolitan Detention Center or to
    heed 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(6)‘s mandate to avoid unwarranted sentencing disparities.
    Accordingly, we conclude that defendants‘ sentencing challenges fail on the merits.
    3.       Polanco
    Counsel for defendant Polanco moves for permission to withdraw pursuant to
    Anders v. California, 
    386 U.S. 738
    (1967), and the government moves to dismiss
    Polanco‘s appeal as barred by the waiver in his plea agreement. Upon due consideration,
    we conclude that the motion to withdraw as counsel should be granted, and the motion to
    dismiss should be granted with respect to Polanco‘s conviction and term of imprisonment,
    16
    and construed as a motion for summary affirmance with respect to the other components of
    Polanco‘s sentence, and as construed, also granted.
    4.    Conclusion
    We have considered defendants‘ remaining arguments and conclude that they are
    without merit. We therefore AFFIRM the judgments of the district court as against
    Jacques and Guerrero, GRANT the motion to withdraw filed by counsel for Polanco,
    DISMISS Polanco‘s appeal of his conviction and term of imprisonment, and GRANT the
    government‘s motion for summary affirmance of Polanco‘s appeal from the other
    components of his sentence.
    FOR THE COURT:
    CATHERINE O=HAGAN WOLFE, Clerk of Court
    17
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 10-3677(L), 11-1083(CON), 11-1099(CON), 11-1146(CON), 11-1083

Citation Numbers: 555 F. App'x 41

Judges: Chin, Christopher, Denny, Droney, Raggi, Reena

Filed Date: 2/6/2014

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 8/31/2023

Authorities (27)

United States v. Quinones , 511 F.3d 289 ( 2007 )

United States v. Bell , 584 F.3d 478 ( 2009 )

United States v. Derek A. Vaughn, Zaza Leslie Lindo , 430 F.3d 518 ( 2005 )

United States v. Cavera , 550 F.3d 180 ( 2008 )

United States v. Arlex Holguin , 436 F.3d 111 ( 2006 )

United States v. Deandrade , 600 F.3d 115 ( 2010 )

United States v. Jones , 531 F.3d 163 ( 2008 )

United States v. Alaa Al-Sadawi , 432 F.3d 419 ( 2005 )

United States v. Cadet , 664 F.3d 27 ( 2011 )

United States v. Fernandez , 443 F.3d 19 ( 2006 )

Ruben Campaneria v. Theodore Reid, Superintendent, Fishkill ... , 891 F.2d 1014 ( 1989 )

united-states-v-ramzi-ahmed-yousef-eyad-ismoil-also-known-as-eyad , 327 F.3d 56 ( 2003 )

united-states-v-nelson-baez-aka-giovanni-aka-nano-aka-patricio , 349 F.3d 90 ( 2003 )

United States v. Vittorio Amuso, Also Known as Jesse, Also ... , 21 F.3d 1251 ( 1994 )

United States v. Mundy , 539 F.3d 154 ( 2008 )

United States v. Mohamad Mussaleen, Also Known as Johnny, ... , 35 F.3d 692 ( 1994 )

United States of America, Appellee-Cross-Appellant v. ... , 385 F.3d 109 ( 2004 )

United States v. Rommy , 506 F.3d 108 ( 2007 )

United States v. Uddin , 551 F.3d 176 ( 2009 )

United States v. Rigas , 583 F.3d 108 ( 2009 )

View All Authorities »