United States of America v. Rafael Zamarripa-Baca

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
RAFAEL ZAMARRIPA-BACA,
Defendant-Appellant.
No. 15-50402
D.C. No. 3:15-cr-01579-WQH
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of California
William Q. Hayes, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted December 14, 2016**
Before: WALLACE, LEAVY, and FISHER, Circuit Judges.
Rafael Zamarripa-Baca appeals from the district court’s judgment and
challenges the 32-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for
importation of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 and 960. We have
jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We vacate and remand for resentencing.
FILED
DEC 19 2016
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 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 --

Zamarripa-Baca argues that the district court erred in denying a minor role
reduction to his base offense level under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2(b). After Zamarripa-
Baca was sentenced, the United States Sentencing Commission issued Amendment
794 (“the Amendment”), which amended the commentary to the minor role
Guideline. The Amendment is retroactive to cases pending on direct appeal. See
United States v. Quintero-Leyva, 823 F.3d 519, 523 (9th Cir. 2016). The
Amendment added a non-exhaustive list of factors that a court “should consider” in
determining whether to apply a minor role reduction. See U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2 cmt.
n.3(C) (2015). Because we cannot determine from the record whether the district
court considered all of the now-relevant factors, we vacate Zamarripa-Baca’s
sentence and remand for resentencing. See Quintero-Leyva, 823 F.3d at 523-24.
VACATED and REMANDED for resentencing.
15-50402 2

-- 2 of 2 --