USA v. Fermin Vargas-Valencia, No. 13-11395 (5th Cir. 2014)

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Case: 13-11395 Document: 00512790458 Page: 1 Date Filed: 10/02/2014 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS United States Court of Appeals FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT Fifth Circuit FILED No. 13-11395 Summary Calendar October 2, 2014 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee v. FERMIN VARGAS-VALENCIA, Defendant-Appellant Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas USDC No. 4:13-CR-104-2 Before REAVLEY, DENNIS, and SOUTHWICK, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: * Fermin Vargas-Valencia (Vargas) appeals the sentence imposed following his guilty plea conviction of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. He argues that his sentence is substantively unreasonable because his 168-month sentence, which is 81 months higher than a similarly situated co-conspirator s sentence, results in an unwarranted sentencing disparity. 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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.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: 13-11395 Document: 00512790458 Page: 2 Date Filed: 10/02/2014 No. 13-11395 Vargas has not shown that the challenged difference between his sentence, which was based on accurate drug quantity information, and his coconspirator s sentence, which was not, is the type of unwarranted sentencing disparity that Congress sought to eliminate under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(6). See Pepper v. United States, 131 S. Ct. 1229, 1248-49 (2011). Vargas fails to rebut the presumption that his within-guidelines sentence is substantively reasonable. See United States v. Cooks, 589 F.3d 173, 186 (5th Cir. 2009). Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. 2

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