Not for Publication in West's Federal Reporter
Citation Limited Pursuant to 1st Cir. Loc. R. 32.3
United States Court of Appeals
For the First Circuit
No. 05-2444
UNITED STATES,
Appellee,
v.
PERRY A. SANTIAGO-SALAZAR,
Defendant, Appellant.
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO
[Hon. Jay Garcia-Gregory, U.S. District Judge]
Before
Boudin, Chief Judge,
Stahl, Senior Circuit Judge,
and Lipez, Circuit Judge.
Mariángela Tirado-Vales on brief for appellant.
Mariana E. Bauzá-Almonte, Assistant United States
Attorney, Nelson Pérez-Sosa, Assistant United States Attorney, and
H.S. Garcia, United States Attorney, on brief for appellee.
August 1, 2006
Per Curiam. Perry Santiago-Salazar pleaded guilty to
possessing cocaine with intent to distribute after law enforcement
officials seized a cocaine-filled suitcase that he had placed
aboard an airline flight from Puerto Rico to New York. At his
sentencing hearing in the District Court for the District of Puerto
Rico, Santiago-Salazar requested a downward adjustment in his
federal Sentencing Guidelines offense level, arguing that he had
played only a minor role in the offense. See USSG § 3B1.2. The
court denied the adjustment and, after making other applicable
adjustments, sentenced the defendant to 87 months in prison.
On appeal, Santiago-Salazar contends that the district
court erred in declining to grant him the downward adjustment. We
review a district court's role-in-the-offense determination for
clear error. See United States v. Ortiz-Santiago, 211 F.3d 146,
148-49 (1st Cir. 2000) (citing United States v. Ocasio, 914 F.2d
330, 333 (1st Cir. 1990)). The determination whether a defendant
has played only a "minor" or "minimal" role in the offense, USSG §
3B1.2, is "notoriously fact-sensitive." Id. at 148. A defendant
seeking a minor-role adjustment bears the burden of showing that he
is (1) less culpable than most other people involved in the
particular offense for which he was convicted and (2) less culpable
than most other perpetrators of comparable crimes. See United
States v. Mateo-Espejo, 426 F.3d 508, 512 (1st Cir. 2005). The
defendant here has made no such showing. To the contrary, the
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facts indicate that Santiago-Salazar was in charge of the illicit
transaction, since he not only orchestrated the shipment of the
suitcase but had follow-up conversations and meetings with a
confidential source to determine the status of the suitcase and
obtain a receipt for the drugs. The district court cited these
follow-up activities as cause to deny the minor-role adjustment.
We see no clear error in this logical determination. In fact, we
have affirmed denials of minor-role adjustments to defendants who
were simply couriers of contraband and did not engage in follow-up
activities like the defendant in this case. See Mateo-Espejo, 426
F.3d at 512-13 (collecting cases).
Affirmed.
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