United States v. Biao Huang

Defendant-Appellant Biao Huang, a native and citizen of China residing in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute various quantities of methamphetamine, including one quantity of more than 900 grams. The district court sentenced Huang to 135 months in prison. Huang appeals his sentence on the ground that he was the victim of sentencing entrapment, which “occurs when a defendant is predisposed to commit a lesser crime, but is entrapped by the government into committing a crime subject to more severe punishment.” United States v. Mejia, 559 F.3d 1113, 1118 (9th Cir.2009). Huang also argues that he should not have received, pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2Dl.l(b)(5), a two-point enhancement for an offense involving the importation of a controlled substance, and that his sentence is substantively unreasonable.

Finding no error in Huang’s sentencing, we affirm the district court. Huang was not subject to sentencing entrapment because Huang had the intent and capacity to produce more than 900 grams of methamphetamine and acted on that intent without hesitation. We join the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits in…