United States of America v. Joel Guerra-Tapia

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
JOEL GUERRA-TAPIA,
Defendant - Appellant.
No. 12-10632
D.C. No. 4:12-cr-00533-JGZ
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Arizona
Daniel L. Hovland, District Judge, Presiding**
Submitted November 19, 2013***
Before: CANBY, TROTT, and THOMAS, Circuit Judges.
Joel Guerra-Tapia appeals from the district court’s judgment and challenges
the three-year term of supervised release imposed following his guilty-plea
conviction for reentry after deportation, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. We have
FILED
NOV 26 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 Honorable Daniel L. Hovland, United States District Judge for
the District of North Dakota, 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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jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.
Guerra-Tapia contends that the district court procedurally erred by failing to
make findings and explain why a term of supervised release was warranted in light
of U.S.S.G. § 5D1.1(c) (2011), which directs that a district court ordinarily should
not impose supervised release if the defendant is a deportable alien. We review for
plain error, see United States v. Valencia-Barragan, 608 F.3d 1103, 1108 (9th Cir.
2010), and find none. Guerra-Tapia has not shown a reasonable probability that he
would have received a different sentence had the district court given explicit
consideration to section 5D1.1(c). See United States v. Dallman, 533 F.3d 755,
762 (9th Cir. 2008).
Guerra-Tapia also contends that the three-year term of supervised release is
substantively unreasonable. The district court did not abuse its discretion in
imposing Guerra-Tapia’s sentence. See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51
(2007). The sentence is substantively reasonable in light of the totality of the
circumstances, including Guerra-Tapia’s multiple prior deportations and criminal
history. See id.; see also U.S.S.G. § 5D1.1 cmt. n.5 (supervised release for a
deportable alien is appropriate if it would provide an added measure of deterrence
and protection).
AFFIRMED.
12-10632 2

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