United States v. Ambrosio Santos

MEMORANDUM

Ambrosio Santos appeals from the 120-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute in excess of 50 grams of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 , 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we affirm.

We reject Santos’s argument that he failed to receive a fair evidentiary hearing in violation of his due process rights. The record shows the district court did not rely on unreliable hearsay to find Santos ineligible for safety valve relief. And contrary to Santos’s allegation, there was no improper prosecutorial vouching in this case, where the alleged instances occurred before a sentencing judge rather than a jury. See E.E.O.C. v. Farmer Bros. Co., 31 F.3d 891, 898 (9th Cir.1994) (“[I]n a bench trial, the risk that a verdict will be affected unfairly and substantially by the admission of irrelevant evidence is far less than in a jury trial.”). Finally, the record does not provide support for Santos’s allegation that the prosecution knowingly used perjured testimony at the evidentiary hearing.

Santos also contends that the district court…