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    United States v. Fabian Beltran Lopez, 4th Cir. (2013)

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    Fabian Beltran Lopez appealed his 168-month sentence for his involvement in a drug trafficking operation. Beltran Lopez pled guilty to a seventeen-count indictment. His counsel argued that his sentence was substantively unreasonable because the sentencing guidelines were not empirically based and the court did not accept his argument about his role in the offense. However, the appellate court found the sentence reasonable, as it was within the guidelines range and the district court provided sufficient reasons, such as drug quantity and harm to the community, for the sentence. Therefore, the appellate court affirmed the district court's judgment.

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    Public Domain
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    United States v. Fabian Beltran Lopez, 4th Cir. (2013)

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    300 views4 pages
    Fabian Beltran Lopez appealed his 168-month sentence for his involvement in a drug trafficking operation. Beltran Lopez pled guilty to a seventeen-count indictment. His counsel argued that his sentence was substantively unreasonable because the sentencing guidelines were not empirically based and the court did not accept his argument about his role in the offense. However, the appellate court found the sentence reasonable, as it was within the guidelines range and the district court provided sufficient reasons, such as drug quantity and harm to the community, for the sentence. Therefore, the appellate court affirmed the district court's judgment.

    Original Description:

    Filed: 2013-12-05 Precedential Status: Non-Precedential Docket: 13-4234

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    Fabian Beltran Lopez appealed his 168-month sentence for his involvement in a drug trafficking operation. Beltran Lopez pled guilty to a seventeen-count indictment. His counsel argued that his sentence was substantively unreasonable because the sentencing guidelines were not empirically based and the court did not accept his argument about his role in the offense. However, the appellate court found the sentence reasonable, as it was within the guidelines range and the district court provided sufficient reasons, such as drug quantity and harm to the community, for the sentence. Therefore, the appellate court affirmed the district court's judgment.

    Copyright:

    Public Domain
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf
    300 views4 pages

    United States v. Fabian Beltran Lopez, 4th Cir. (2013)

    Uploaded by

    Scribd Government Docs
    Fabian Beltran Lopez appealed his 168-month sentence for his involvement in a drug trafficking operation. Beltran Lopez pled guilty to a seventeen-count indictment. His counsel argued that his sentence was substantively unreasonable because the sentencing guidelines were not empirically based and the court did not accept his argument about his role in the offense. However, the appellate court found the sentence reasonable, as it was within the guidelines range and the district court provided sufficient reasons, such as drug quantity and harm to the community, for the sentence. Therefore, the appellate court affirmed the district court's judgment.

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    of 4

    UNPUBLISHED

    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS


    FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

    No. 13-4234

    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,


    Plaintiff - Appellee,
    v.
    FABIAN ISRAEL BELTRAN LOPEZ,
    Defendant - Appellant.

    Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
    District of Virginia, at Norfolk.
    Mark S. Davis, District
    Judge. (2:12-cr-00015-MSD-LRL-2)

    Submitted:

    November 26, 2013

    Decided:

    December 5, 2013

    Before DUNCAN, DAVIS, and KEENAN, Circuit Judges.

    Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

    Michael S. Nachmanoff, Federal Public Defender, Richard J.


    Colgan, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Caroline S. Platt,
    Appellate Attorney, Norfolk, Virginia, for Appellant.
    Laura
    Marie Everhart, Assistant United States Attorney, Norfolk,
    Virginia, for Appellee.

    Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

    PER CURIAM:
    Fabian

    Israel

    courts

    judgment

    Beltran

    Lopez

    alleging

    his

    operation.

    Beltran

    sentencing

    pled

    guilty

    extensive

    Lopez

    him

    to

    to

    appeals

    168

    the

    months

    imprisonment.

    seventeen-count

    involvement

    in

    district

    indictment

    drug

    trafficking

    Beltran Lopezs counsel has filed a brief pursuant

    to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), certifying that


    there

    are

    whether

    no

    meritorious

    Beltran

    Lopezs

    grounds

    sentence

    for
    is

    appeal

    but

    questioning

    substantively

    reasonable.

    Beltran Lopez, though given the opportunity to do so, has not


    filed a pro se supplemental brief.

    We affirm.

    We review a sentence for reasonableness, applying an


    abuse of discretion standard.
    38,

    51

    (2007).

    procedural

    error,

    reasonableness

    of

    If
    as
    the

    the

    Gall v. United States, 552 U.S.

    sentence

    here,

    we

    sentence,

    totality of the circumstances.

    is

    free

    consider
    tak[ing]

    Id.

    of

    significant

    the

    substantive

    into

    account

    the

    If the sentence is within

    the Guidelines range, we presume on appeal that the sentence is


    reasonable.

    United States v. Day, 700 F.3d 713, 730 (4th Cir.

    2012), cert. denied, 133 S. Ct. 2038 (2013); see Rita v. United
    States,

    551

    U.S.

    338,

    34656

    (2007)

    (permitting

    appellate

    presumption of reasonableness for within-Guidelines sentence).


    Such a presumption is rebutted only if the defendant shows that
    the sentence is unreasonable when measured against the 3553(a)
    2

    factors.

    United States v. Montes-Pineda, 445 F.3d 375, 379

    (4th Cir. 2006) (internal quotation marks omitted).


    Beltran
    sentence

    is

    Lopez

    contends

    substantively

    that

    his

    unreasonable

    within-Guidelines

    because

    the

    district

    court did not accept his argument that the Guidelines were not
    empirically based and credited the Governments interpretation
    of Beltran Lopezs role in the offense.

    We will not disregard

    the presumption of reasonableness that attaches to a withinGuidelines sentence merely because the Guideline in question is
    not empirically based.

    See United States v. Mondragon-Santiago,

    564 F.3d 357, 367 (5th Cir. 2009).

    Additionally, we conclude

    that there was sufficient evidence for the district court to


    refuse
    Lopezs

    to

    vary

    role

    in

    below
    the

    the

    Guidelines

    offense.

    range

    Lastly,

    we

    based

    on

    conclude

    Beltran
    that

    the

    district court gave sufficient reasons for its within-Guidelines


    sentence, relying on drug quantity and harm to the community.
    In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the record
    in this case and have found no meritorious grounds for appeal.
    We therefore affirm the district courts judgment.

    This court

    requires that counsel inform Beltran Lopez, in writing, of the


    right to petition the Supreme Court of the United States for
    further review.
    filed,

    but

    If Beltran Lopez requests that a petition be

    counsel

    believes

    that

    such

    petition

    would

    be

    frivolous, then counsel may move in this court for leave to


    3

    withdraw from representation.

    Counsels motion must state that

    a copy thereof was served on Beltran Lopez.


    We dispense with oral argument because the facts and
    legal
    before

    contentions
    this

    court

    are

    adequately

    and

    argument

    presented

    would

    not

    in
    aid

    the
    the

    materials
    decisional

    process.

    AFFIRMED

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