US v. Joaquin Tostado-Barraza, No. 14-4591 (4th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 14-4591 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff – Appellee, v. JOAQUIN TOSTADO-BARRAZA, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Charlotte. Max O. Cogburn, Jr., District Judge. (3:13-cr-00056-MOC-6) Submitted: April 16, 2015 Decided: April 20, 2015 Before AGEE and KEENAN, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Scott Gsell, LAW OFFICE OF SCOTT GSELL, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellant. Amy Elizabeth Ray, Assistant United States Attorney, Asheville, North Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM: Joaquin Tostado-Barraza pled guilty without a plea agreement to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and laundering. cocaine base and conspiracy to commit money The district court sentenced him to 120 months’ imprisonment. Tostado-Barraza’s counsel has submitted a brief in accordance with Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), stating that there are no meritorious grounds for appeal but questioning whether the district court erred when it applied a two-level enhancement under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines § 2D1.1(b)(1) (2013) because a handgun was possessed. Tostado-Barraza nor the Government has filed a Neither brief. We affirm. A two-level increase in a defendant’s offense level is warranted “[i]f a dangerous weapon (including a firearm) was possessed.” USSG § 2D1.1(b)(1). The defendant bears the burden to show that a connection between his possession of a firearm and his narcotics offense is “clearly improbable.” United States v. Harris, 128 F.3d 850, 852-53 (4th Cir. 1997) (internal quotation marks omitted). Given that Tostado-Barraza was found in a “stash” trailer, a gun was found on his bed, and numerous holes were located directly behind the trailer containing drug wrapping materials, we conclude that Tostado-Barraza has not met his burden of establishing that 2 a connection between his possession of a firearm and his offense was clearly improbable. Thus, the district court’s finding was not clearly erroneous. In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the entire record in this case and have found no meritorious issues for appeal. This We court writing, of therefore requires the affirm that right to the counsel a petition be filed, inform petition United States for further review. that district but the court’s judgment. Tostado-Barraza, Supreme Court of in the If Tostado-Barraza requests counsel believes that such a petition would be frivolous, then counsel may move in this court for leave to withdraw from representation. Counsel’s motion must state that a copy thereof was served on Tostado-Barraza. We dispense contentions with are oral argument adequately because presented in the facts and the materials legal before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED 3
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.
