Filed: Oct. 20, 2004
Latest Update: Feb. 21, 2020
Summary: United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit F I L E D IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT October 20, 2004 Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk No. 04-40144 Conference Calendar UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus MANUELA DELAROSA CIVIL, also known as Manuela Delarosa Martinez, Defendant-Appellant. - Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas USDC No. 1:03-CR-141-1 - Before JOLLY, JONES, and WIENER, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:
Summary: United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit F I L E D IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT October 20, 2004 Charles R. Fulbruge III Clerk No. 04-40144 Conference Calendar UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, versus MANUELA DELAROSA CIVIL, also known as Manuela Delarosa Martinez, Defendant-Appellant. - Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas USDC No. 1:03-CR-141-1 - Before JOLLY, JONES, and WIENER, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:*..
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United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT October 20, 2004
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
No. 04-40144
Conference Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
MANUELA DELAROSA CIVIL, also known as
Manuela Delarosa Martinez,
Defendant-Appellant.
--------------------
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Texas
USDC No. 1:03-CR-141-1
--------------------
Before JOLLY, JONES, and WIENER, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Manuela Delarosa Civil (Civil) appeals the sentence imposed
upon her guilty plea to distribution of less than 50 grams of
methamphetamine (meth), in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1).
Civil contends that the district court erred by finding that she
was not entitled to a minor role adjustment in her Sentencing
Guideline offense level pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2.
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined
that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent
except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.
R. 47.5.4.
No. 04-40144
- 2 -
Civil’s contention lacks merit because the unrefuted
evidence shows that she was a key participant in the drug-
trafficking transaction for which she was convicted. First,
after Civil received the meth without having to pay for it in
advance, she stored it until she could sell and deliver it. She
sought out a female customer who would take the meth into the
federal prison where her codefendant was incarcerated. When an
undercover agent (UC) telephoned her, Civil readily seized the
opportunity to deal with her. Civil then negotiated the price
for the meth and the time and place for the delivery. Civil
personally delivered the meth to the customer, accepting $2,000
in payment for it. Civil then coached the UC on how to smuggle
the meth into the prison. Finally, Civil admitted that she had
intended to wire the proceeds to the supplier.
Civil argues that she is entitled to the role adjustment
because she was a minor participant in the global offense of drug
distribution in the federal prison. Civil argues that the
district court’s ruling was inconsistent with its penalizing her
two levels for the global conspiracy of bringing drugs into the
prison, pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(3).
This lacks merit because the upward adjustment was based on
the evidence that the meth that Civil distributed as charged in
Count II was intended to be smuggled into the prison. A
defendant is not entitled to the minor-participant adjustment if
her sentence is based solely on activity in which she was
No. 04-40144
- 3 -
personally involved, even if her involvement in a larger
conspiracy was minor or minimal. United States v. Garcia,
242 F.3d 593, 598-99, (5th Cir. 2001). Accordingly, the district
court’s finding that Civil was not a minor participant is not
clearly erroneous.
AFFIRMED.