Filed: Apr. 15, 2013
Latest Update: Mar. 28, 2017
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 12-4838 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff – Appellee, v. ERASMO HERRERA RUIZ, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Asheville. Martin K. Reidinger, District Judge. (1:12-cr-00048-MR-DLH-1) Submitted: April 11, 2013 Decided: April 15, 2013 Before GREGORY, SHEDD, and WYNN, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Henderson Hill, Exe
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 12-4838 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff – Appellee, v. ERASMO HERRERA RUIZ, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Asheville. Martin K. Reidinger, District Judge. (1:12-cr-00048-MR-DLH-1) Submitted: April 11, 2013 Decided: April 15, 2013 Before GREGORY, SHEDD, and WYNN, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Henderson Hill, Exec..
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 12-4838
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff – Appellee,
v.
ERASMO HERRERA RUIZ,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of North Carolina, at Asheville. Martin K. Reidinger,
District Judge. (1:12-cr-00048-MR-DLH-1)
Submitted: April 11, 2013 Decided: April 15, 2013
Before GREGORY, SHEDD, and WYNN, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Henderson Hill, Executive Director, Joshua B. Carpenter, FEDERAL
DEFENDERS OF WESTERN NORTH CAROLINA, INC., Asheville, North
Carolina, for Appellant. Anne M. Tompkins, United States
Attorney, John D. Pritchard, Special Assistant United States
Attorney, Asheville, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM
Erasmo Ruiz pled guilty to illegal re-entry of a
deported alien in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a) (2006), and
was sentenced to nineteen months’ imprisonment. On appeal, Ruiz
contends that his sentence is procedurally and substantively
unreasonable. Because of the short length of his sentence, Ruiz
also moves to expedite our review. We deny the motion and
affirm.
We review a sentence for reasonableness, applying a
deferential abuse-of-discretion standard. Gall v. United
States,
552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007); see also United States v.
Diosdado–Star,
630 F.3d 359, 363 (4th Cir.), cert. denied,
131
S. Ct. 2946 (2011). We first review for significant procedural
errors, including whether the district court failed to consider
the § 3553(a) factors. If we find a sentence procedurally
reasonable, we then consider substantive reasonableness,
applying a totality of the circumstances test. Id. Whether a
sentence is substantively unreasonable is considered “in light
of the totality of the circumstances.” United States v. Worley,
685 F.3d 404, 409 (4th Cir. 2012). In reviewing whether a
district court’s decision to vary from the applicable Guidelines
range is substantively reasonable, this court “‘may consider the
extent of the deviation [from the applicable Guidelines range],
but must give due deference to the district court’s decision
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that the [18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) (2006)] factors, on a whole,
justify the extent of the variance.’” United States v.
Diosdado-Star,
630 F.3d 359, 366 (4th Cir.) (quoting Gall v.
United States,
552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007)), cert. denied,
131 S. Ct.
2946 (2011).
We conclude that Ruiz’s sentence is both procedurally
and substantively reasonable. The district court properly
calculated the applicable advisory Guidelines range, did not
consider any improper factors, and addressed Ruiz’s
non-frivolous arguments for a within Guidelines sentence.
Though the district court varied upwards from the Guidelines
range, we conclude that the district court gave sufficient
reasons for imposing a higher sentence. The district court
based its sentence in large part on the need to deter offenders
who, like Ruiz, illegally re-enter the country after committing
a drug trafficking crime. The district court emphasized Ruiz’s
long criminal history and the seriousness of his drug
trafficking crime in particular. Based on these considerations
we conclude that the district court gave Ruiz an individualized
assessment and stated sufficient grounds for his sentence.
Accordingly, we deny the motion to expedite as moot
and affirm the district court’s judgment. We dispense with oral
argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately
3
presented in the material before this court and argument will
not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
4