United States of America v. Walter Vicente-Gonzalez

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
WALTER VICENTE-GONZALEZ,
Defendant - Appellant.
No. 12-10530
D.C. No. 4:12-cr-00229-JGZ
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Arizona
Warren W. Eginton, District Judge, Presiding**
Submitted January 21, 2014***
Before: CANBY, SILVERMAN, and PAEZ, Circuit Judges.
Walter Vicente-Gonzalez appeals from the district court’s judgment and
challenges his guilty-plea conviction and 37-month sentence for reentry after
FILED
JAN 24 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 Honorable Warren W. Eginton, Senior United States District
Judge for the District of Connecticut, sitting by designation.
*** 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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deportation, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C.
§ 1291, and we affirm.
Vicente-Gonzalez contends that his plea was not entered knowingly,
intelligently, and voluntarily because he did not understand the nature and range of
possible sentences. We review the voluntariness of a plea de novo. See United
States v. Gaither, 245 F.3d 1064, 1068 (9th Cir. 2001). The record reflects that
although Vicente-Gonzalez disliked the range of possible sentences he was facing,
his plea was knowing, voluntary, and intelligent.
Vicente-Gonzalez also contends that the district court should have departed
downward to account for his cultural assimilation. Our review of departures is
limited to determining whether the district court imposed a substantively
reasonable sentence. See United States v. Vasquez-Cruz, 692 F.3d 1001, 1008 (9th
Cir. 2012), cert. denied, 134 S. Ct. 76 (2013). The sentence is substantively
reasonable in light of the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) sentencing factors and the totality of
the circumstances. See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51. (2007).
AFFIRMED.
12-10530 2

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