PER CURIAM.
Based on his role in an international telemarketing scam, Geoffrey Alexander Ramer pled guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, eight counts of wire fraud and aiding and abetting, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and four counts of international money laundering and aiding and abetting. The district court sentenced Ramer to 108 months' imprisonment, and he now appeals, challenging the district court's calculation of his Sentencing Guidelines range and the procedural reasonableness of his sentence. We affirm.
Ramer first argues that the Government failed to present evidence at his sentencing hearing regarding his leadership role, the number and vulnerability of victims, and the amount of loss attributable to him. However, we conclude that Ramer has waived appellate review of these claims. We have recognized that "[a] party who identifies an issue, and then explicitly withdraws it, has waived the issue."
Ramer raised these Guidelines calculation issues in his objections to the presentence report, and he later agreed to a sentencing stipulation that specifically resolved his objections. Indeed, defense counsel agreed at Ramer's sentencing hearing that the sentencing stipulation resolved all of Ramer's objections to the presentence report and even relied on the stipulation to argue for a lesser sentence. We find it disingenuous for Ramer to now claim that the Government was required to introduce evidence at the sentencing hearing on these issues.
Moreover, contrary to Ramer's argument, the Supreme Court's decision in
Next, Ramer contends that his sentence is procedurally unreasonable for two reasons. First, Ramer asserts that the district court failed to consider any of the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) (2012) factors other than deterrence. Second, Ramer argues that the district court neglected to address his arguments for a downward variance.
A sentence is procedurally reasonable if the district court properly calculates the defendant's advisory Guidelines range, gives the parties an opportunity to argue for an appropriate sentence, considers the § 3553(a) factors, and sufficiently explains the selected sentence.
Insofar as Ramer contends that the district court failed to properly consider the § 3553(a) factors by only addressing the need for deterrence, we find that Ramer's argument is meritless. Although the district court's statements in imposing sentence were heavily focused on general deterrence, the court also discussed Ramer's personal characteristics, the seriousness of the offense, and the need to protect the public from Ramer.
Turning to Ramer's second procedural unreasonableness argument, Ramer does not specifically identify the downward variance arguments that the district court failed to address, but defense counsel requested a variance based on Ramer's personal history and characteristics, including his intelligence and education, and the tragedy of his mother's murder. Defense counsel also argued in mitigation that Ramer intermittently left Costa Rica while the scheme was ongoing, that he did not substantially profit from the scheme, and that he did not particularly target elderly persons.
After some discussion with defense counsel, the district court stated that it would not go below the stipulated Guidelines range. While the district court did not discuss each of Ramer's arguments for a downward variance in rejecting his request, the court's remarks reflect that it considered Ramer's personal characteristics and his offense conduct in fashioning his sentence. Therefore, we conclude that the district court sufficiently addressed Ramer's arguments for a downward variance. Moreover, even assuming that the district court erred, we find that the Government has demonstrated any error to be harmless.
Accordingly, we affirm the district court's judgment. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.