NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FEB 22 2019
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 18-30105
Plaintiff-Appellee, D.C. No. 3:17-cr-00182-TMB
v.
ANTHONY LAMONT JOHNSON, a.k.a. MEMORANDUM*
Anthony L. Johnnson,
Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Alaska
Timothy M. Burgess, Chief Judge, Presiding
Submitted February 19, 2019**
Before: FERNANDEZ, SILVERMAN, and WATFORD, Circuit Judges.
Anthony Lamont Johnson appeals from the district court’s judgment and
challenges the 40-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for
being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and
924(a)(2). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
Johnson contends that the district court erred by imposing a sentence that
was longer than necessary to meet the sentencing objectives outlined in 18 U.S.C.
§ 3553(a). Johnson suggests that the district court had an obligation to credit his
mitigating arguments because the government did not introduce sufficient evidence
to refute them, and that the court violated his right to due process by considering
unreliable information. These arguments are legally unsupported and belied by the
record. The district court has discretion to determine how to weigh the parties’
sentencing arguments under section 3553(a). See United States v. Gutierrez-
Sanchez, 587 F.3d 904, 908 (9th Cir. 2009). The court did not consider any
unreliable information, see United States v. Vanderwerfhorst, 576 F.3d 929, 935-
36 (9th Cir. 2009) (defining unreliable information as information that “lacks some
minimal indicium of reliability” (internal quotations omitted)), and, in fact, gave
some of Johnson’s mitigating arguments significant weight in deciding to vary
below the Guidelines range. Finally, the court did not abuse its discretion in
imposing the below-Guidelines sentence. See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38,
51 (2007). The sentence is substantively reasonable in light of the section 3553(a)
sentencing factors and the totality of the circumstances, including the seriousness
of the offense, the need to deter Johnson and others from illegally possessing
firearms, and the need to protect the public. See Gall, 552 U.S. at 51.
AFFIRMED.
2 18-30105