NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS DEC 16 2019
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 18-30252
Plaintiff-Appellee, D.C. No. 4:15-cr-06049-EFS-2
v.
JESE DAVID CARILLO CASILLAS, AKA MEMORANDUM*
Jese David Casillas Carillo,
Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Washington
Edward F. Shea, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted December 11, 2019**
Before: WALLACE, CANBY, and TASHIMA, Circuit Judges.
Jese David Carillo Casillas appeals from the district court’s judgment and
challenges the 300-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction
for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846,
and conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1956(h).
*
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). Accordingly, Carillo
Casillas’s request for oral argument is denied.
We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.
Carillo Casillas contends that the district court erred by applying a four-level
aggravating role enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(a). He argues that the
evidence was insufficient to support the enhancement because it showed that he
was controlled by his supervisors in Mexico. This argument fails because, even
accepting that the drug trafficking organization was headquartered in Mexico, a
preponderance of the evidence supports the district court’s finding that Carillo
Casillas was a leader of the organization’s illicit activities in the Eastern District of
Washington. See United States v. Job, 871 F.3d 852, 868 (9th Cir. 2017) (stating
evidentiary standard for a sentencing enhancement). The record reflects that
Carillo Casillas negotiated drug deals, acquired vehicles with hidden
compartments, arranged money laundering transactions, and had considerable
control over his couriers. Under these circumstances, the district court did not
clearly err in finding that Carillo Casillas exercised organizational authority over
the drug and money laundering conspiracy, see U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1 cmt. n.4; United
States v. Ingham, 486 F.3d 1068, 1075-76 (9th Cir. 2007), and did not abuse its
discretion in imposing the enhancement, see United States v. Gasca-Ruiz, 852 F.3d
1167, 1170 (9th Cir. 2017) (en banc) (application of the Guidelines to the facts is
reviewed for abuse of discretion).
AFFIRMED.
2 18-30252