USA v. Nehemias Lopez-Perez

[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 12-15076
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket No. 8:12-cr-00133-VMC-MAP-2
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
NEHEMIAS LOPEZ-PEREZ,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Florida
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(June 10, 2013)
Before MARCUS, PRYOR and ANDERSON, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Nehemias Lopez-Perez appeals his sentence of 33 months of imprisonment,
following his pleas of guilty to one count of conspiring to transport 100 or more
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illegal aliens, 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(v)(I), (a)(1)(B)(i), and two counts of
transporting illegal aliens within the United States, id. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(ii),
(a)(1)(B)(i); 18 U.S.C. § 2. Lopez-Perez argues that his sentence is unreasonable.
We affirm.
The district court did not abuse its discretion. The district court imposed a
sentence at the low end of Lopez-Perez’s recommended guideline range of 33 to 41
months, and we ordinarily expect such a sentence to be reasonable. See United
States v. Hunt, 526 F.3d 739, 746 (11th Cir. 2008). Lopez-Perez requested a
downward variance of 15 months, but the district court reasonably rejected the
request because Lopez-Perez had been responsible for transporting at least 140
aliens after they entered the country illegally. The district court also reasonably
determined that a sentence of 33 months of imprisonment would best serve the
statutory purposes of sentencing. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). Lopez-Perez argues
that he was entitled to a lesser sentence because he had no criminal history, he was
not a leader of the conspiracy, his offenses “did not involve the typical
‘aggravators’” that often accompanied smuggling operations, and he cooperated
with authorities, but we are not persuaded that Lopez-Perez’s sentence “lies
outside the range of reasonable sentences dictated by the facts of [his] case.”
United States v. Irey, 612 F.3d 1160, 1190 (11th Cir. 2010) (internal quotation
marks omitted). The district court imposed the sentence that Lopez-Perez
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requested as an alternative to a sentence below the guidelines, and that sentence is
reasonable.
We AFFIRM Lopez-Perez’s sentence.
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