Case: 20-50601 Document: 00515727806 Page: 1 Date Filed: 02/01/2021
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
February 1, 2021
No. 20-50601
Lyle W. Cayce
Summary Calendar Clerk
United States of America,
Plaintiff—Appellee,
versus
Carlos Ybarra,
Defendant—Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
USDC No. 5:08-CR-47-21
Before Clement, Elrod, and Haynes, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam:*
Carlos Ybarra, federal prisoner # 97326-180, moves for leave to
proceed in forma pauperis (IFP) on appeal from the denial of a motion for a
sentence reduction under 18 U.S.C. § 3582(c)(1)(A) based on his health and
the risk of COVID-19. The IFP motion is construed as a challenge to the
*
Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this
opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited
circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4.
Case: 20-50601 Document: 00515727806 Page: 2 Date Filed: 02/01/2021
No. 20-50601
district court’s certification that the appeal was not taken in good faith. See
28 U.S.C. § 1915(a)(3); Baugh v. Taylor, 117 F.3d 197, 202 (5th Cir. 1997).
We review the determination that relief was unwarranted under the
18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors for abuse of discretion. United States v. Chambliss,
948 F.3d 691, 693 (5th Cir. 2020). The district court clearly articulated fact-
specific reasons why Ybarra’s sentence should not be reduced, chiefly his
membership in a violent criminal organization and his murder of a
government informant. Ybarra’s contrary arguments that his history and
offense are outweighed by his present characteristics and circumstances
amount to a disagreement with the court’s balancing of the § 3553(a) factors,
which “is not a sufficient ground for reversal.” Chambliss, 948 F.3d at 694.
Although Ybarra fails to show a reversible error by the district court,
his appeal is not without any arguable merit, see Howard v. King, 707 F.2d 215,
220 (5th Cir. 1983), and he is financially eligible to proceed IFP, see Adkins v.
E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co., 335 U.S. 331, 339 (1948). We therefore
GRANT the motion to proceed IFP and AFFIRM. Ybarra’s motion asking
this court to reduce his sentence is DENIED.
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