United States v. Adan Uscanga-Gonzalez

MEMORANDUM

Adan Uscanga-Gonzalez appeals from the district court’s judgment and challenges the 27-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.

Uscanga-Gonzalez contends that the district court procedurally erred by failing to explain adequately the upward variance and failing to consider or address his sentencing arguments. We review for plain error, see United States v. Valencia-Barragan, 608 F.3d 1103, 1108 (9th Cir.2010), and find none. The record reflects that the district court considered Uscanga-Gonzalez’s arguments and sufficiently explained the reasons for imposing the above-Guidelines sentence. See United States v. Carty, 520 F.3d 984, 992 (9th Cir.2008) (en banc). Contrary to Uscan-ga-Gonzalez’s contention, the court did not err by using his previous sentence for the same offense as a benchmark. See United States v. Higuera-Llamos, 574 F.3d 1206, 1211-12 (9th Cir.2009).

Uscanga-Gonzalez next contends that the sentence is substantively unreasonable in light of the mitigating factors and the alleged…