United States of America v. Juan Javier Perez-Sanchez

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
v.
JUAN JAVIER PEREZ-SANCHEZ,
Defendant-Appellant.
No. 16-50091
D.C. No. 3:15-cr-02783-LAB-1
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of California
Larry A. Burns, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted February 14, 2017**
Before: GOODWIN, FARRIS, and FERNANDEZ, Circuit Judges.
Juan Javier Perez-Sanchez appeals from the district court’s judgment and
challenges the 72-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for
importation of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 and 960. We
have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.
FILED
FEB 21 2017
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).

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Perez-Sanchez contends that the district court applied the wrong legal
standard to his request for a minor role reduction under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2, and
erred in denying the reduction. We review the district court’s interpretation of the
Guidelines de novo, and its factual finding that a defendant was not a minor
participant for clear error. See United States v. Hurtado, 760 F.3d 1065, 1068 (9th
Cir. 2014). Contrary to Perez-Sanchez’s claim, the district court properly
compared Perez-Sanchez to his co-participants in the offense, and considered the
factors enumerated in the Guideline and the totality of the circumstances, to
determine whether Perez-Sanchez was “substantially less culpable than the average
participant.” See U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2 cmt. n.3(A), (C) (2015); United States v.
Quintero-Leyva, 823 F.3d 519, 523 (9th Cir. 2016). Moreover, in light of the
circumstances of the offense, the district court did not clearly err in concluding that
Perez-Sanchez was not a minor participant. See Hurtado, 760 F.3d at 1069.
Furthermore, the district court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing
Perez-Sanchez to a below-Guidelines term. See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38,
51 (2007). The sentence is substantively reasonable in light of the 18 U.S.C.
§ 3553(a) sentencing factors and the totality of the circumstances, including the
large amount of drugs that Perez-Sanchez imported. See Gall, 552 U.S. at 51.
AFFIRMED.
16-50091 2

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