United States of America v. Francisco Valle Manjarrez

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
FRANCISCO VALLE MANJARREZ,
Defendant - Appellant.
No. 12-50496
D.C. No. 3:12-cr-01449-BEN-1
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of California
Roger T. Benitez, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted July 7, 2014**
Pasadena, California
Before: SILVERMAN, TALLMAN, and RAWLINSON, Circuit Judges.
Francisco Valle Manjarrez appeals the 46-month sentence imposed by the
district court following his guilty plea to importing 11.03 kilograms of cocaine into
FILED
AUG 01 2014
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).

-- 1 of 2 --

the United States from Mexico in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 and 960. We
affirm.
The district court properly refused to consider hypothetical participants
when it found that the defendant was not a minor participant for purposes of
United States Sentencing Guideline § 3B1.2(b). United States v. Rojas-Millan, 234
F.3d 464, 473 (9th Cir. 2000). The district court also properly considered the facts
of the crime. United States v. Hurtado, No. 13-50170, 2014 WL 3720241, at *3
(9th Cir. July 7, 2014); United States v. Rodriguez-Castro, 641 F.3d 1189, 1193
(9th Cir. 2011). The mere fact that the defendant was a courier did not entitle him
to a minor role adjustment. Id. The district court did not clearly err in finding that
the defendant was a run-of-the-mill drug smuggler for money, no better, no worse.
The defendant accepted payment and a vehicle in exchange for importing a large
quantity of drugs, 11 kilograms of cocaine, into the country. Id.
Nor did the district court abuse its discretion when it sentenced the
defendant to the minimum guideline sentence after considering all of the relevant
sentencing factors.
AFFIRMED.
2

-- 2 of 2 --