United States v. Lucio Lopez

FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION DEC 21 2011 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 11-10269 Plaintiff - Appellee, D.C. No. 4:10-cr-00470-SBA v. MEMORANDUM * LUCIO LERMA-LOPEZ, a.k.a. Ramon Corrales, a.k.a. Lucie Lena, a.k.a. Guadalupe Lerma, a.k.a. Rucio Lerma, a.k.a. Jose Lerman, a.k.a. Juan Lopez, a.k.a. Guadalupe Pena, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California Saundra B. Armstrong, District Judge, Presiding Submitted December 19, 2011 ** Before: GOODWIN, WALLACE, and McKEOWN, Circuit Judges. Lucio Lerma-Lopez appeals from the 33-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for illegal reentry following deportation, in violation of * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). 8 U.S.C. § 1326. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm. Lerma-Lopez contends that the district court procedurally erred by failing to interpret correctly the cultural assimilation Guideline, U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 cmt. n.8. This argument fails because, in declining to grant the departure based on Lerma- Lopez’s significant criminal and deportation history, the court showed a correct understanding of the Guideline. See U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 cmt. n.8 (cultural assimilation downward departure should only be considered where it is “not likely to increase the risk to the public from further crimes of the defendant”). Lerma-Lopez also contends that his sentence is substantively unreasonable. In light of the totality of the circumstances and the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) sentencing factors, the bottom-of-the-Guidelines sentence is substantively reasonable. See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007). AFFIRMED. 2 11-10269