USA V. JAIME HERRERA-RAMOS, No. 13-10156 (9th Cir. 2013)

Annotate this Case
Download PDF
FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS DEC 30 2013 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, No. 13-10156 D.C. No. 3:12-cr-00054-HDM v. MEMORANDUM* JAIME HERRERA-RAMOS, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada Howard D. McKibben, District Judge, Presiding Submitted December 17, 2013** Before: GOODWIN, WALLACE, and GRABER, Circuit Judges. Jaime Herrera-Ramos appeals from the district court s judgment and challenges the 77-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for illegal reentry, 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 9th Cir. R. 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). Herrera-Ramos contends that the district court procedurally erred by failing to consider that he lost the opportunity to benefit from a fast-track plea agreement. We review for plain error, see United States v. Valencia-Barragan, 608 F.3d 1103, 1108 (9th Cir. 2010), and find none. The district court was aware that the government offered a prior, more favorable plea, and the court provided defense counsel with the opportunity to discuss the specific details of the lost fast-track plea offer. Additionally, to the extent Herrera-Ramos contends that the district court failed to recognize its authority to vary from the Guidelines range, the record does not support this contention. Herrera-Ramos also contends that the sentence is substantively unreasonable because it is based on a 16-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b), which lacks any empirical basis and results in a disproportionally high sentence. The district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing Herrera-Ramos s sentence. See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007). The bottom-of-the-Guidelines sentence is substantively reasonable in light of the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors and the totality of the circumstances, including Herrera-Ramos s violent criminal history and cultural assimilation. See id.; see also United States v. RamirezGarcia, 269 F.3d 945, 947-48 (9th Cir. 2001) (recognizing the 16-level 2 13-10156 enhancement reflects Congress s intent to increase penalties for aliens with prior convictions in order to deter others). Finally, Herrera-Ramos s challenge to the use of the prior conviction to enhance his sentence is foreclosed by United States v. Beng-Salazar, 452 F.3d 1088, 1091 (9th Cir. 2006). AFFIRMED. 3 13-10156

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.