USA v. Arango

FILED
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
OCT 13, 2011
JOHN LEY
CLERK
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 11-10480
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket No. 1:10-cr-20465-JAL-2
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
SANDRA LORENA ARANGO,
llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
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(October 13, 2011)
Before PRYOR, MARTIN and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Sandra Lorena Arango appeals her convictions for importing and conspiring
to import cocaine, 21 U.S.C. §§ 952(a), 963, and her sentence of 45 months of

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imprisonment. Arango challenges the sufficiency of the evidence and the
reasonableness of her sentence. We affirm.
Arango argues that the United States failed to prove that she knowingly
imported cocaine into the United States, but ample evidence supports her
convictions. Viewed in the light most favorable to the United States, the evidence
presented at trial “‘evidenc[ed] a consciousness of guilt’” by Arango. United
States v. Quilca-Carpio, 118 F.3d 719, 721 (11th Cir. 1997) (quoting United States
v. Stanley, 24 F.3d 1314, 1320 (11th Cir. 1994)). When a customs officer at the
Miami International Airport questioned Arango and her former mother-in-law,
Deisy Marrero, Arango spoke only when spoken to, appeared uncomfortable,
avoided eye contact with the officer, and attempted to hide behind Marrero. See
United States v. Steed, 548 F.3d 961, 978 (11th Cir. 2008). Later, when another
customs officer asked Arango to remove her sneakers, Arango hesitated, hung her
head, and exhaled loudly before complying with the instruction. The sneakers
were oddly stiff, heavy, noticeably newer than Arango’s clothes, and identical to
those worn by Marrero. When examined by hand, the sneakers expelled a white,
powdery substance that tested positive for the presence of cocaine, and an x-ray
examination revealed that a package of cocaine had been concealed in the heel of
each shoe. When a customs officer asked Arango about the cocaine, she stared at
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the floor and later cried. Although Marrero testified that Arango innocently had
accompanied Marrero to Ecuador to visit the daughter of Arango’s former
husband, the jury reasonably discredited Marrero’s testimony as implausible. See
United States v. Molina, 443 F.3d 824, 829 (11th Cir. 2006). Marrero testified
that she paid for the airline tickets and hotel using $2,500 that she won gambling
with $60 at a casino, but Marrero had told a customs officer that Arango’s former
husband bought the tickets. Marrero also testified incredibly that she met with her
granddaughter only once and later, while sightseeing, she agreed, without
Arango’s knowledge, to transport cocaine for a taxi driver. The jury reasonably
could infer that Marrero would not have trusted Arango to smuggle 367 grams of
cocaine into the United States without her knowledge. Quilca-Carpio, 118 F.3d at
722.
The district court did not abuse its discretion by sentencing Arango to a
term of imprisonment within the advisory guidelines range. Arango argues that
her sentence did not account for her “compelling mitigating circumstances,” but
the district court weighed the seriousness of Arango’s offenses against her lack of
criminal history, her reputation as a “kind and generous person,” and her “minimal
amount of education.” The district court considered the sentencing factors and
reasonably determined that a term of 45 months of imprisonment would
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adequately punish Arango, “reflect the seriousness of [her] offense, “promote
respect for the law,” and “afford adequate deterrence not only to [her], but to other
Defendants who [might] be considering the importation of cocaine.” 18 U.S.C. §
3553(a). Arango’s sentence is reasonable.
We AFFIRM Arango’s convictions and sentence.
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