United States v. Guillermo Chavez

MEMORANDUM

Guillermo Ernest Vasquez-Chavez appeals from the 100-month sentence imposed following his jury-trial conviction for being an illegal alien found in the United States following deportation, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 . We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm in part and vacate in part.

Vasquez-Chavez contends that the district court procedurally erred by failing to grant a two-point downward adjustment to his offense level for acceptance of responsibility under U.S.S.G. § 3E1.1. In light of the record before the district court, there was no clear error. See United States v. Hopper, 27 F.3d 378, 381-82 (9th Cir.1994); United States v. Molina, 596 F.3d 1166, 1169-70 (9th Cir.2010) (“[C]onflicting stories weigh against a finding that [defendant] accepted responsibility for his actions.”).

Vasquez-Chavez also contends that the district court procedurally erred by failing to grant a downward departure under U.S.S.G. § 5K2.12. This contention is without merit, where the record shows that the district did not procedurally err and “any deviation from the applicable advisory guidelines range will be viewed as an exercise of the district court’s…