United States of America v. Rafael Esquivel-Castaneda

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
RAFAEL ESQUIVEL-CASTANEDA,
Defendant - Appellant.
No. 13-50246
D.C. No. 3:12-cr-05197-LAB
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of California
Larry A. Burns, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted November 19, 2013**
Before: CANBY, TROTT, and THOMAS, Circuit Judges.
Rafael Esquivel-Castaneda appeals from the district court’s judgment and
challenges the 12-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for
bringing in illegal aliens without presentation and aiding and abetting, in violation
FILED
DEC 06 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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of 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(2)(B)(iii) and 18 U.S.C. § 2. We have jurisdiction under 28
U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.
Esquivel-Castaneda contends that the district court erred by imposing a two-
level increase for using a minor to commit the crime under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.4. We
review for clear error. See United States v. Preciado, 506 F.3d 808, 810 (9th Cir.
2007) (per curiam). The district court did not clearly err in finding that
Esquivel-Castaneda affirmatively used his children in his crime. See id. (evidence
that defendant “brought children along to a previously planned crime supports a
finding that the minors were used to avoid detection”).
AFFIRMED.
13-50246 2

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