United States v. Martinez, No. 15-8019 (10th Cir. 2016)
Annotate this CaseEmiliano Martinez pleaded guilty to possessing an unregistered, short-barrel shotgun in violation of federal law. Under his plea agreement, Martinez reserved the right to appeal his sentence if the district court determined that his total offense level was greater than 23 under the 2014 United States Sentencing Guidelines. The district court calculated his total offense level as 27 after applying a four-level enhancement for using or possessing a firearm in connection with another felony. Central to this enhancement was the district court’s finding that Martinez had possessed a firearm in connection with another felony offense: a burglary of the home from which the shotgun Martinez later possessed was stolen. On appeal, Martinez argued that the district court clearly erred at sentencing when it considered the hearsay statements of Eduardo Hernandez, who, in a police interview, had admitted to committing the burglary with Martinez. Martinez argued that Hernandez’s hearsay statements lacked sufficient indicia of reliability to support their probable accuracy. Finding no reversible error, the Tenth Circuit affirmed the district court.
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