United States v. Francisco Gonzalez

MEMORANDUM

Francisco Javier Gonzalez appeals from the district court’s judgment and challenges the 70-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for importation of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 952 and 960; and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1) and (b)(91)(A)(ii)(II). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we vacate and remand for resentencing.

Gonzalez 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). He incorrectly frames this claim as a substantive reasonableness argument; in fact, it is a challenge to the court’s calculation of the Guidelines range. See U.S.S.G. § lBl.l(a)(3); United States v. Hurtado, 760 F.3d 1065, 1068 (9th Cir. 2014).

After Gonzalez 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 clarified that, in assessing whether a defendant should receive a…