Filed: Aug. 28, 2019
Latest Update: Mar. 03, 2020
Summary: Case: 18-41190 Document: 00515095018 Page: 1 Date Filed: 08/28/2019 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 18-41190 FILED Summary Calendar August 28, 2019 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee v. DAMIAN GARCIA, Defendant-Appellant Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 7:18-CR-871-1 Before WIENER, HAYNES, and COSTA, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: * Damia
Summary: Case: 18-41190 Document: 00515095018 Page: 1 Date Filed: 08/28/2019 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 18-41190 FILED Summary Calendar August 28, 2019 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee v. DAMIAN GARCIA, Defendant-Appellant Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 7:18-CR-871-1 Before WIENER, HAYNES, and COSTA, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: * Damian..
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Case: 18-41190 Document: 00515095018 Page: 1 Date Filed: 08/28/2019
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
No. 18-41190 FILED
Summary Calendar August 28, 2019
Lyle W. Cayce
Clerk
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee
v.
DAMIAN GARCIA,
Defendant-Appellant
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 7:18-CR-871-1
Before WIENER, HAYNES, and COSTA, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM: *
Damian Garcia pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to transport
illegal aliens, during which a death resulted, and he received a sentence of 80
months in prison. In his sole argument on appeal, he contends that the district
court erred in imposing a four-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.1(b)(4)
based on a determination that one alien was an unaccompanied minor. Garcia
maintains that the alien had an incentive to report his age as 15 rather than
* 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 R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not
be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH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.
Case: 18-41190 Document: 00515095018 Page: 2 Date Filed: 08/28/2019
No. 18-41190
18 so that he would not be prosecuted for illegal entry and that the
Government’s failure to corroborate the information obtained from the alien
rendered the presentence report (PSR) unreliable.
Because Garcia preserved his argument, we review the district court’s
interpretation of the Guidelines de novo and its factual findings for clear error.
See United States v. Fernandez,
770 F.3d 340, 342 (5th Cir. 2014). “A district
court may rely on uncorroborated hearsay testimony in making factual
findings at sentencing, as long as the hearsay evidence carries sufficient
indicia of reliability.” United States v. Golden,
17 F.3d 735, 736 (5th Cir. 1994).
The record makes clear that the information was ascertained through the
investigation by law enforcement and immigration agents, which is generally
considered reliable. See United States v. Fuentes,
775 F.3d 213, 220 (5th Cir.
2014). In the absence of rebuttal evidence from Garcia indicating that the
alien’s age and birth date were “untrue, inaccurate[,] or unreliable,” he has not
shown that the district court clearly erred in its reliance on the PSR. United
States v. Harris,
702 F.3d 226, 230 (5th Cir. 2012) (internal quotation marks
and citation omitted). Accordingly, the judgment of the district court is
AFFIRMED.
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