United States v. Julio Mena

Julio Mena appeals from the conviction and sentence imposed upon him after a bench trial on stipulated facts. The court convicted him of possession of cocaine with intent to distribute and conspiracy in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1) and 846. He challenges the sufficiency of the evidence underlying his conviction, but his principal argument on appeal is that the district court should have granted him a downward departure from his Guideline sentence pursuant to Guideline § 5K1.1. That section provides that the district court may downwardly depart from the otherwise applicable Guideline range upon a motion of the government seeking a departure on the ground that the defendant gave substantial assistance to the government. The appellant maintains that there should have been a downward departure under this section despite the fact that the government made no such motion and even though the district court did, pursuant to the “catchall” departure provisions of section 5K2.0, grant a downward departure on a number of grounds, including cooperation. It is apparently appellant’s position that had the government made a motion pursuant to section 5K1.1, the district court would have…