USA V. HUGO CONTRERAS-HERNANDEZ, No. 16-50189 (9th Cir. 2017)
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION MAY 11 2017 UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS No. 16-50189 D.C. No. 3:16-cr-00094-AJB v. MEMORANDUM* HUGO CONTRERAS-HERNANDEZ, Defendant-Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of California Anthony J. Battaglia, District Judge, Presiding Submitted May 8, 2017** Before: REINHARDT, LEAVY, and NGUYEN, Circuit Judges. Hugo Contreras-Hernandez appeals from the district court’s judgment and challenges the 30-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for being a removed alien found in the United States, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm. * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). Contreras-Hernandez contends that the district court erred when it denied his request for departures for imperfect duress under U.S.S.G. § 5K2.12, lesser harm under U.S.S.G. § 5K2.11, and combination of circumstances under U.S.S.G. § 5K2.0(c). We do not review the procedural correctness of a district court’s decision not to depart from the Sentencing Guidelines range. See United States v. Vasquez-Cruz, 692 F.3d 1001, 1005-08 (9th Cir. 2012). Instead, we review the ultimate sentence for substantive reasonableness. Id. at 1008. The low-end sentence is substantively reasonable in light of the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors and the totality of the circumstances, including Contreras-Hernandez’s criminal history, his prior illegal reentry conviction, and his failure to be deterred by the sentence for that conviction. See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007). Moreover, contrary to Contreras-Hernandez’s contention, the record reflects that the district court considered his departure requests and adequately explained the sentence imposed. See United States v. Carty, 520 F.3d 984, 992 (9th Cir. 2008) (en banc). AFFIRMED. 2 16-50189
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
