Filed: Apr. 19, 2012
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: FILED United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS April 19, 2012 TENTH CIRCUIT Elisabeth A. Shumaker _ Clerk of Court UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, No. 11-1342 v. (D.Ct. No. 1:10-CR-00610-REB-1) (D. Colo.) FERNANDO TREJO-LUNA, a/k/a Antonio Retana, a/k/a Manuel Pasa-Linas, Defendant-Appellant. _ ORDER AND JUDGMENT * Before PORFILIO, ANDERSON, and BRORBY, Senior Circuit Judges. After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determin
Summary: FILED United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS April 19, 2012 TENTH CIRCUIT Elisabeth A. Shumaker _ Clerk of Court UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, No. 11-1342 v. (D.Ct. No. 1:10-CR-00610-REB-1) (D. Colo.) FERNANDO TREJO-LUNA, a/k/a Antonio Retana, a/k/a Manuel Pasa-Linas, Defendant-Appellant. _ ORDER AND JUDGMENT * Before PORFILIO, ANDERSON, and BRORBY, Senior Circuit Judges. After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determine..
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FILED
United States Court of Appeals
Tenth Circuit
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
April 19, 2012
TENTH CIRCUIT
Elisabeth A. Shumaker
__________________________
Clerk of Court
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
No. 11-1342
v. (D.Ct. No. 1:10-CR-00610-REB-1)
(D. Colo.)
FERNANDO TREJO-LUNA, a/k/a
Antonio Retana, a/k/a Manuel Pasa-Linas,
Defendant-Appellant.
______________________________
ORDER AND JUDGMENT *
Before PORFILIO, ANDERSON, and BRORBY, Senior Circuit Judges.
After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
unanimously that oral argument would not materially assist in the determination
of this appeal. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is
therefore ordered submitted without oral argument.
Appellant Fernando Trejo-Luna pled guilty to one count of unlawful re-
*
This order and judgment is not binding precedent except under the
doctrines of law of the case, res judicata and collateral estoppel. It may be cited,
however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th
Cir. R. 32.1.
entry after deportation subsequent to an aggravated felony conviction in violation
of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) and (b)(2). The district court sentenced him to forty-one
months imprisonment – within the United States Sentencing Guideline
(“Guidelines”) range of thirty-seven to forty-six months imprisonment. Although
Mr. Trejo-Luna appeals his conviction and sentence, his attorney has filed an
Anders brief and a motion for permission to withdraw as counsel. See Anders v.
California,
386 U.S. 738, 744 (1967). For the reasons set forth hereafter, we
grant counsel’s motion to withdraw and dismiss this appeal.
Id.
I. Background
On April 14, 2011, Mr. Trejo-Luna pled guilty to unlawful re-entry after
deportation subsequent to an aggravated felony conviction in violation of 8
U.S.C. § 1326(a) and (b)(2). Mr. Trejo-Luna executed a formal statement in
advance of his plea in which he acknowledged his attorney explained the nature
of the charges against him and the elements which the government must prove
and stated, in part, he: (1) understood the court would consider many factors,
including the Guidelines and 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors, in determining his
sentence; (2) was aware of his Constitutional rights and the rights he was waiving
by not going to trial; (3) knew the maximum possible penalty for his crime was
twenty years; and (4) entered his plea after full understanding of his rights, the
facts and circumstances of the case, and the potential consequences of his plea
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agreement, without mental reservation or influence of medications, drugs, or
intoxicants. Mr. Trejo-Luna also stated he understood that by pleading guilty he
was agreeing to forego his right of appellate review on the question of his guilt,
but he could still seek appellate review of the sentence imposed. In pleading
guilty, Mr. Trejo-Luna, who was born in Mexico, had the benefit of Spanish
translation and an interpreter.
After the district court accepted his guilty plea, a probation officer prepared
a presentence report calculating his sentence under the applicable Guidelines,
including a total offense level of 17, which, together with a criminal history
category of IV, resulted in a sentencing range of thirty-seven to forty-six months
imprisonment. In discussing Mr. Trejo-Luna’s criminal history, the probation
officer pointed out he previously pled guilty to “Driving Under the Influence with
Prior Driving Under the Influence/Vehicular Homicide/Vehicle Assault/Driving
Under Revocation” and indicated it involved Mr. Trejo-Luna’s second driving
under the influence charge. Ultimately, the district court imposed a sentence of
forty-one months incarceration and three years supervised release. 1
1
While Mr. Trejo-Luna’s counsel outlines the contents of the documents
on which he relies, including the presentence report, sentencing transcript,
“Motion Requesting Down Spiral,” and the order denying that motion, he has not
submitted into the record copies of these documents or the portions on which he
relies. Generally, “[w]hen the party asserting an issue fails to provide a record
sufficient for considering that issue, [this] court may decline to consider it.” 10th
(continued...)
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Following sentencing, Mr. Trejo-Luna filed a pro se “Motion To The Court
Request[ing] Down Spiral On Sentencing The Court Erred On Adding On To My
Sentence When I Was Not Involved In An Accident Where Someone Died.” In
his motion, Mr. Trejo-Luna claimed the district court improperly sentenced him
because, in discussing his criminal history, it referred to a conviction which the
presentence report indicated involved vehicular homicide. The district court
issued an order denying the motion, stating it “did not cite or use this discreet
conviction to enhance the sentence imposed. Thus, whether the conviction
actually involved vehicular homicide was irrelevant to my sentencing analysis
under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(1)-(7).” It concluded that “[b]ecause Mr. Trejo-Luna
suffered no prejudice from any misdescription of the offense, he is not entitled to
a sentence reduction.”
Following Mr. Trejo-Luna’s pro se notice of appeal, his appointed counsel
filed an Anders appeal brief and a motion to withdraw as counsel, explaining no
meritorious issues exist on appeal. See
Anders, 386 U.S. at 744. In support,
counsel points out: (1) Mr. Trejo-Luna knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently
1
(...continued)
Cir. R. 10.3(B). However, in this case, the absence of these documents does not
affect our disposition of Mr. Trejo-Luna’s appeal. This is because we assume
counsel’s representations with respect to the contents of the documents are
accurate in the absence of any objection by the government or Mr. Trejo-Luna
himself.
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pled guilty; (2) he was advised in Spanish of his rights and the possible penalties
for pleading guilty; (3) his motion for a downward spiral was meritless given the
district court stated it did not increase his sentence based on the conviction; and
(4) no grounds otherwise exist under Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 35 for
correcting or reducing his sentence.
Pursuant to the requirements in Anders, this court gave Mr. Trejo-Luna an
opportunity to respond to his counsel’s Anders brief, which he failed to timely
file. See
id. In addition, the government has filed a notice of its intention not to
file an answer brief in this appeal.
II. Discussion
As required by Anders, we have conducted a full examination of the record
before us. See
id. A review of the plea document furnished establishes Mr.
Trejo-Luna waived his right to appeal his guilty plea and that even if his guilty
plea is examined, it was voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently entered.
As to his sentence, we review it for procedural and substantive
reasonableness. See United States v. Kristl,
437 F.3d 1050, 1053-55 (10th Cir.
2006) (per curiam). Having made such a review, we find no nonfrivolous basis
for challenging the sentence imposed. Mr. Trejo-Luna, through his counsel, does
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not contend the district court improperly calculated his Guidelines range of thirty-
seven to forty-six months incarceration. Further, the district court sentenced him
to forty-one months imprisonment, which is within the advisory Guidelines range
and entitled to a rebuttable presumption of reasonableness.
Id. Mr. Trejo-Luna
has not rebutted this presumption with any nonfrivolous reason warranting a
lower sentence.
Id.
III. Conclusion
For these reasons, no meritorious appellate issue exists. Accordingly, we
GRANT counsel’s motion to withdraw and DISMISS Mr. Trejo-Luna’s appeal.
Entered by the Court:
WADE BRORBY
United States Circuit Judge
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