United States v. Lorenzo Grado-Meza

MEMORANDUM

Lorenzo Grado-Meza appeals from the district court’s judgment and challenges the 36-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for being a removed alien found in the United States, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 . We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

Grado-Meza contends that the district court procedurally erred by (1) “triple- counting” Grado-Meza’s prior convictions, (2) focusing exclusively on deterrence and protection of the public, and (3) failing to explain adequately its reasons for rejecting Grado-Meza’s mitigating arguments and imposing the above-Guidelines sentence. These contentions fail. The court did not err by varying upward based on Grado-Meza’s criminal history. See United States v. Christensen, 732 F.3d 1094, 1100-01 (9th Cir.2013) (court may vary upward based on factors already incorporated into the Guidelines calculations). Moreover, the record reflects that the court considered the 18 U.S.C. § 3553 (a) factors and sufficiently explained the reasons for imposing the sentence. See United States v. Carty, 520 F.3d 984, 992 (9th Cir.2008) (en banc).

Grado-Meza also contends that his sentence is substantively…