United States v. Castillo-Torres, No. 21-1243 (1st Cir. 2021)
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The First Circuit vacated Defendant's eight-month sentence for unlawful reentry in violation of 8 U.S.C. 1326(a), holding that the bare criminal complaint did not provide reliable evidence to support the district court's finding that Defendant had previously used a weapon to cut another person.
Defendant's sentencing range under the United States Sentencing Guidelines was eight to fourteen months. Defendant urged the district court to issue a below-Guidelines sentence based on, among other grounds, the fact that unlawful reentry is a non-violent, victimless crimes. In sentencing Defendant to eight months' imprisonment the district court relied upon allegations in a Puerto Rico complaint that Defendant had previously used a weapon to cut another person. The First Circuit vacated the sentence and remanded for resentencing, holding that the district court abused its discretion by relying on a bare allegation that was both challenged by Defendant and unsupported by any other indicia of reliability to justify a longer sentence than otherwise would have been imposed.
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