United States of America v. Jose Luis Flores-Gonzales

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
JOSE LUIS FLORES-GONZALES,
Defendant - Appellant.
No. 12-50593
D.C. No. 3:12-cr-03727-LAB
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of California
Larry A. Burns, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted December 17, 2013**
Before: GOODWIN, WALLACE, and GRABER, Circuit Judges.
Jose Luis Flores-Gonzales appeals from the district court’s judgment and
challenges the 42-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for
being a removed alien found in the United States, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326.
We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.
FILED
DEC 30 2013
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).

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Flores-Gonzales contends that the district court procedurally erred by (1)
failing to expressly consider U.S.S.G. § 4A1.3, a policy statement concerning
“departures based on inadequacy of criminal history;” and (2) using Flores-
Gonzales’s previous sentence for illegal reentry rather than the relevant Guidelines
range as a starting point for sentencing. We review for plain error, see United
States v. Valencia-Barragan, 608 F.3d 1103, 1108 (9th Cir. 2010), and find none.
The district court used the Guidelines range as the starting point in the sentencing
process, and adequately explained the sentence with reference to the 18 U.S.C.
§ 3553(a) sentencing factors. See United States v. Carty, 520 F.3d 984, 992 (9th
Cir. 2008) (en banc).
Flores-Gonzales also contends that his sentence is substantively
unreasonable. The district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing Flores-
Gonzales’s sentence. See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007). The
above-Guidelines sentence is substantively reasonable in light of the section
3553(a) sentencing factors and the totality of the circumstances, including Flores-
Gonzales’s repeated immigration violations and his failure to be deterred by prior
sentences. See id.
AFFIRMED.
12-50593 2

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