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    United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit

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    The defendant, Armando Paz-Rojas, pled guilty to illegal re-entry into the United States after deportation. At sentencing, the district court determined that a prior conviction constituted a felony crime of violence, warranting a 16-level enhancement. However, the court departed downward 12 levels, resulting in a guideline range of 21-27 months. The court sentenced Paz-Rojas to 24 months based on the §3553(a) factors, including his criminal history and pattern of minimizing conduct. On appeal, Paz-Rojas argued his sentence was too long because it did not account for his ineligibility for a fast-track program. The appellate court affirmed, finding the sentence reasonable and

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    United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit

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    The defendant, Armando Paz-Rojas, pled guilty to illegal re-entry into the United States after deportation. At sentencing, the district court determined that a prior conviction constituted a felony crime of violence, warranting a 16-level enhancement. However, the court departed downward 12 levels, resulting in a guideline range of 21-27 months. The court sentenced Paz-Rojas to 24 months based on the §3553(a) factors, including his criminal history and pattern of minimizing conduct. On appeal, Paz-Rojas argued his sentence was too long because it did not account for his ineligibility for a fast-track program. The appellate court affirmed, finding the sentence reasonable and

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    Filed: 2014-05-07 Precedential Status: Non-Precedential Docket: 13-1526

    Original Title

    United States v. Paz-Rojas, 10th Cir. (2014)

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    The defendant, Armando Paz-Rojas, pled guilty to illegal re-entry into the United States after deportation. At sentencing, the district court determined that a prior conviction constituted a felony crime of violence, warranting a 16-level enhancement. However, the court departed downward 12 levels, resulting in a guideline range of 21-27 months. The court sentenced Paz-Rojas to 24 months based on the §3553(a) factors, including his criminal history and pattern of minimizing conduct. On appeal, Paz-Rojas argued his sentence was too long because it did not account for his ineligibility for a fast-track program. The appellate court affirmed, finding the sentence reasonable and

    Copyright:

    Public Domain
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    29 views6 pages

    United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit

    Uploaded by

    Scribd Government Docs
    The defendant, Armando Paz-Rojas, pled guilty to illegal re-entry into the United States after deportation. At sentencing, the district court determined that a prior conviction constituted a felony crime of violence, warranting a 16-level enhancement. However, the court departed downward 12 levels, resulting in a guideline range of 21-27 months. The court sentenced Paz-Rojas to 24 months based on the §3553(a) factors, including his criminal history and pattern of minimizing conduct. On appeal, Paz-Rojas argued his sentence was too long because it did not account for his ineligibility for a fast-track program. The appellate court affirmed, finding the sentence reasonable and

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    of 6

    FILED

    United States Court of Appeals


    Tenth Circuit

    May 7, 2014

    UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS


    TENTH CIRCUIT

    Elisabeth A. Shumaker
    Clerk of Court

    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,


    Plaintiff - Appellee,
    v.

    No. 13-1526

    ARMANDO PAZ-ROJAS,

    (D.C. No. 1:13-CR-00234-RM-1)


    (D. Colo.)

    Defendant - Appellant.

    ORDER AND JUDGMENT*

    Before BRISCOE, Chief Judge, ANDERSON and BRORBY, Senior Judges.

    After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined
    unanimously to honor the parties request for a decision on the briefs without oral
    argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(f); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is, therefore,
    submitted without oral argument.
    This is a direct criminal appeal filed by the defendant, Armando Paz-Rojas. He
    pled guilty to illegal re-entry into the United States after deportation, in violation of 8

    This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of
    law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its
    persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.

    U.S.C. 1326(a), (b)(1). Paz-Rojas was sentenced to 24 months in prison. On appeal, he


    contests the substantive reasonableness of his sentence. We have jurisdiction under 28
    U.S.C. 1291 and affirm.
    I. BACKGROUND
    On June 3, 2013, a grand jury returned an indictment charging Paz-Rojas with a
    single count of illegal re-entry into the United States after deportation, in violation of 8
    U.S.C. 1326(a), (b)(1). Paz-Rojas initially considered participating in Colorados fasttrack program, under which he could have received a 4-level sentencing guideline
    reduction. However, his attorney realized that Paz-Rojas 2004 California conviction for
    willful infliction of corporal injury might constitute a felony crime of violence.1 If the
    conviction constituted a felony, not only would it eliminate Paz-Rojas eligibility for the
    4-level fast-track reduction, but also it would increase his offense level by 16, pursuant to
    U.S.S.G. 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii). Although Paz-Rojas may still have received a 2-level
    reduction through the fast-track program, his attorney felt that considering all of the
    circumstances it didnt make any sense from our perspective, so we did reject [it]. R.

    California Penal Code 273.5(a) is a wobbler, or a crime punishable either as


    a felony or a misdemeanor. United States v. Hernandez-Castillo, 449 F.3d 1127, 1130
    (10th Cir. 2006). A wobbler charged as a felony may be converted to a misdemeanor
    [a]fter a judgment imposing a punishment other than imprisonment in the state prison.
    Id. Paz-Rojas received a sentence of 36 months probation, subject to the condition he be
    placed in county jail for 90 days. R. Vol. I at 53. However, under California law, a
    sentence of probation does not constitute a judgment, and thus cannot convert it into a
    misdemeanor. 449 F.3d at 1130 ([N]either probation nor a suspended sentence is
    deemed to be a judgment imposing punishment under California law.).
    2

    Vol. III at 74.


    Paz-Rojas pled guilty, pursuant to a plea agreement with the government. The
    agreement noted the parties disagreement over whether the 2004 conviction constituted a
    felony or a misdemeanor. The agreement did not include a waiver of Paz-Rojas right to
    appeal, which would have occurred had he participated in the fast-track program. R. Vol.
    III at 72 ([Paz-Rojas] was given an opportunity, he chose not to do fast track, with the
    appellate waiver, whatever else that - applies to that, we are not getting that.). The
    probation office prepared a presentence report (PSR). The PSR advised that the 2004
    California conviction constituted a felony under United States v. Hernandez-Castillo, 449
    F.3d 1127 (10th Cir. 2006), and thus applied the 16-level enhancement to the base offense
    level of 8. The PSR applied a 3-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility, pursuant
    to U.S.S.G. 3E1.1(a), (b). With Paz-Rojas criminal history category of V, the resulting
    guideline range was 70-87 months. The PSR recommended departing downward to 36
    months, pursuant to 4A1.3(b)(1), because Paz-Rojas criminal history category
    substantially over-represented the seriousness of his history.
    Paz-Rojas filed a motion for a variant sentence, which made two alternative
    requests. If the court did not apply the 16-level enhancement, resulting in a guideline
    range of 21-17 months, then Paz-Rojas requested a sentence of 9 months. If the court did
    apply the enhancement, resulting in a guideline range of 70-87 months, then he only
    requested a variant sentence of 21 months. The district court filed notice that it was
    considering a departure pursuant to U.S.S.G. 2L1.1, Application Note 7(C).
    3

    The district court held a sentencing hearing on November 26, 2013. After hearing
    arguments by both parties, the court ruled that the 2004 conviction was a felony crime of
    violence and therefore applied the 16-level enhancement, resulting in a guideline range of
    70 to 87 months. The court ruled, however, that a downward departure to offense level
    12 was appropriate, pursuant to U.S.S.G. 2L1.1, Application Note 7(C). With a 2-level
    reduction for acceptance of responsibility, the final offense level was 10, resulting in a
    sentencing range of 21-27 months. The defendants counsel requested a sentence of 21
    months, and the government suggested 26 months.
    The district court sentenced Paz-Rojas to 24 months based on its assessment of the
    18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors. The court had earlier considered a greater sentence of 27
    months, but felt that Paz-Rojas history was a mitigating factor because he had lived in
    the United States for most of his life. The court stressed that Paz-Rojas had a lot of
    convictions, with a consistent record, with respect to committing offenses. R. Vol. III
    at 80-81. The court noted Paz-Rojas dishonesty with the probation officer, and believed
    it was part of a pattern of kind of trying to put a little bit of minimization or spin on
    things. Id. at 81. Finally, the court determined that a 24-month sentence, likely reduced
    to 20 months for good time, would be 8 months longer than Paz-Rojas D.U.I. sentence,
    which the judge stated was as small an incremental increase as I intend to give. Id. at
    82. The court emphasized that the sentence was not chosen simply because it was within
    the guideline range, but because it was a sentence that is sufficient but not greater than
    necessary under all of the circumstances of this case, considering all of the factors that
    4

    have been presented to me. Id.


    II. ANALYSIS
    On appeal, Paz-Rojas only argument is that his sentence was substantively
    unreasonable because it did not correct for the fact that he was ineligible for the fasttrack program, which could have reduced his guideline range by 4 levels. In addressing
    substantive reasonableness, we consider whether the length of the sentence is reasonable
    given all the circumstances of the case in light of the factors set forth in 18 U.S.C.
    3553(a). United States v. Chavez, 723 F.3d 1226, 1233 (10th Cir. 2013) (quoting United
    States v. Reyes-Alfonso, 653 F.3d 1137, 1145 (10th Cir. 2011)). The substantive
    reasonableness of a sentence is reviewed under the deferential abuse of discretion
    standard. United States v. Basnett, 735 F.3d 1255, 1263 (10th Cir. 2013). [A] withinGuidelines sentence is entitled to a presumption of substantive reasonableness on appeal.
    The defendant may rebut this presumption by showing that his sentence is unreasonable
    in light of the sentencing factors delineated in 18 U.S.C. 3553(a). United States v.
    Alapizco-Valenzuela, 546 F.3d 1208, 1215 (10th Cir. 2008) (internal citations omitted).2
    Paz-Rojas argues that even though the departure countered the impact of the 16-

    Paz-Rojas did not argue before the district court that, if the 16-level enhancement
    applied, he should receive a variance on the basis that he was ineligible for the fast-track
    program. After the court announced the sentence, the defendant did not object to his
    sentence except to note his continued disagreement with the 16-level enhancement. R.
    Vol. III at 83. The proper standard of review may be plain error, but we need not decide
    the issue because his sentence is easily affirmed even under the less demanding abuse of
    discretion standard. See United States v. Valquez-Alcarez, 647 F.3d 973, 976-77 (10th
    Cir. 2011).
    5

    level enhancement, the resulting 24-month sentence was still too long, because it failed
    to account for the fact that Paz-Rojas, now burdened with a felony crime-of-violence
    conviction, lost out on the District of Colorados fast-track program. Appellants Br. at
    12. He contends that his sentence did not conform to those factors [ 3553(a)], primarily
    because its starting point was a guideline calculation wanting in logic and reason, even if
    it was compelled by state law. Id. at 16-17. He gives no further argument as to how his
    sentence is unreasonable based on the 3553(a) factors, however, and does not state the
    factors on which he bases his appeal.
    Paz-Rojas has not rebutted the presumption of reasonableness. The district court
    provided three main reasons for the sentence imposed and all were based on the 3553(a)
    factors. The court was concerned about Paz-Rojas criminal history, with multiple
    repeated crimes, and his pattern of minimizing his conduct. The court sought a
    sufficiently longer sentence than Paz-Rojas prior sentences to impress upon Paz-Rojas
    the seriousness of his conduct and to deter future illegal re-entries. We conclude that the
    sentence was reasonable, and the court did not abuse its discretion. We AFFIRM the
    sentence imposed by the district court.
    Entered for the Court

    Mary Beck Briscoe


    Chief Judge

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