United States v. Manuel Gamez, A.K.A. Manuel Gamez-Rubio, Gustavo Gamez, Manuel Flores-Falvez, Manuel Gomez-Rubio, Manuel Flores-Galvez
Opinion
Opinion
Sneed, J.
Manuel Gamez appeals his conviction and 151-month sentence for drug importation. Gamez was charged with various marijuana and murder-related offenses. The jury acquitted him on all murder-related charges but found him guilty of all marijuana-related charges. The district court applied U.S.S.G. § 2Dl.l(d)(l)’s murder cross-reference to impose a 151-month sentence on Gamez when he otherwise would have been subject to a Guidelines maximum sentence of 46 months. The district court applied the murder cross-reference because it found that murder was both foreseeable and in furtherance of the marijuana importation conspiracy in which Gamez participated even though it found that Gamez did not commit murder. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.
BACKGROUND
On the night of June 2, 1998, Border Patrol Agents Alexander Kirpnick (“Kirp-nick”) and Steven Heiden (“Heiden”) were searching for illegal aliens in Potrero Canyon, north of the Arizona-Mexico border. They saw four men walking in a line, two of whom were walking several feet in front of the others. Each was carrying a bag containing approximately twenty-five pounds of marijuana.