USA v. Dennis Brass, No. 18-30164 (5th Cir. 2018)

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Case: 18-30164 Document: 00514670727 Page: 1 Date Filed: 10/05/2018 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 18-30164 Summary Calendar FILED October 5, 2018 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee v. DENNIS JOSEPH BRASS, also known as Joe, Defendant-Appellant Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana USDC No. 1:14-CR-216-1 Before BENAVIDES, HIGGINSON, and ENGELHARDT, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: * Following an earlier appeal, see United States v. Brass, 700 F. App’x 361 (5th Cir. 2017), the district court resentenced Dennis Joseph Brass on his guilty plea to a drug conspiracy and imposed the statutory mandatory minimum sentence of 120 months of imprisonment. Brass now challenges that sentence, contending that the district court should have imposed a lower sentence. We affirm. 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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.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: 18-30164 Document: 00514670727 Page: 2 Date Filed: 10/05/2018 No. 18-30164 The Government filed a motion for a downward departure from the guidelines range pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1, but it did not move pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3553(e) for a departure below the mandatory minimum. Therefore, the district court lacked the authority to sentence Brass below the statutory mandatory minimum. See Melendez v. United States, 518 U.S. 120, 124-26 (1996); United States v. Sealed Appellee, 887 F.3d 707, 709 (5th Cir. 2018). Brass’s argument to the contrary is meritless. AFFIRMED. 2

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