USA v. Ramon Nunez-Morale, No. 10-50388 (5th Cir. 2010)
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Case: 10-50388 Document: 00511325283 Page: 1 Date Filed: 12/17/2010 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS United States Court of Appeals FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT Fifth Circuit FILED No. 10-50388 Summary Calendar December 17, 2010 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee v. RAMON NUNEZ-MORALES, also known as Nicolas Iciordia, Defendant-Appellant Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas USDC No. 1:10-CR-33-1 Before KING, BENAVIDES, and ELROD, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Ramon Nunez-Morales appeals the 57-month sentence he received following his guilty plea conviction for illegal reentry in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. Although he argues to the contrary, sentences within the properlycalculated guidelines range determined under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 are entitled to a presumption of reasonableness. See United States v. Mondragon-Santiago, 564 F.3d 357, 366-67 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 130 S. Ct. 92 (2009). Additionally, because Nunez-Morales did not object to his sentence as unreasonable in the * Pursuant to 5TH CIR . R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR . R. 47.5.4. Case: 10-50388 Document: 00511325283 Page: 2 Date Filed: 12/17/2010 No. 10-50388 district court, we review the reasonableness of the sentence for plain error. See United States v. Peltier, 505 F.3d 389, 391-92 (5th Cir. 2007). First, Nunez-Morales asserts that his sentence overstated the danger he presents to the community and his risk of recidivism because § 2L1.2 double counts the defendant s criminal record, using it to determine his offense level and his criminal history score. A sentence calculated under § 2L1.2 is not unreasonable because the Guideline double counts the defendant s criminal history. See United States v. Duarte, 569 F.3d 528, 529-31 (5th Cir.), cert. denied, 130 S. Ct. 378 (2009); Mondragon-Santiago, 564 F.3d at 366-67; see also § 2L1.2, comment. (n.6) (a conviction that triggers the 16-level enhancement may be assigned criminal history points). Next, Nunez-Morales asserts that the Guidelines produced a sentence greater than necessary to meet the sentencing goals of 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) because they failed to account adequately for his personal circumstances, history, and characteristics, in that he has been mostly law-abiding and hardworking for the past decade. He contends, relatedly, that illegal reentry is not evil in itself and essentially is an international trespass. A sentence resulting from the 16-level enhancement under § 2L1.2 is not unreasonable simply because illegal reentry arguably is akin to a trespass offense. See United States v. Aguirre-Villa, 460 F.3d 681, 683 (5th Cir. 2006). The court listened to Nunez-Morales s arguments for a lower sentence and rejected them. Nunez-Morales has failed to offer a persuasive reason for this court to disturb the district court s sentence at the bottom of the applicable guidelines range. See id. As Nunez-Morales has failed to demonstrate any error, plain or otherwise, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. 2
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