United States v. Perez, No. 19-1448 (7th Cir. 2021)
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Perez was a member of the Latin Kings street gang in Maywood, Illinois, and served in several leadership positions in which he ordered or personally carried out acts of violence, including the attempted murder of a former gang member. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), 18 U.S.C. 1962(d), and possessing a firearm as a felon, section 922(g)(1).
The Seventh Circuit affirmed his sentence to concurrent terms of 336 months and 120 months in prison, respectively—below the advisory range under the Sentencing Guidelines. The judge correctly determined that the RICO violation was “based on” an act of racketeering that is punishable by life imprisonment under state law— discharging a firearm in an attempted murder—a predicate act that raised the applicable maximum penalty from 20 years to life under section 1963(a). Perez’s argument about unwarranted sentencing disparities was waived because at sentencing the judge twice asked Perez’s counsel whether he was satisfied with the court’s explanation of the sentence, and both times counsel failed to mention any section 3553(a)(6) concerns. Waiver aside, a sentence within or below a properly calculated Guidelines range necessarily complies with section 3553(a)(6).
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