United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT April 17, 2007
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
No. 05-41653
Conference Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
JOSE ANGEL GONZALEZ,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Texas
USDC No. 5:04-CR-2258-4
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Before HIGGINBOTHAM, BENAVIDES, and PRADO, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Jose Angel Gonzalez appeals his 135-month sentence following
his guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute in excess
of five kilograms of cocaine. He avers that the district court
erred by denying him a minor-role adjustment pursuant to U.S.S.G.
§ 3B1.2.
Following United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005), this
court reviews the district court’s application of the Sentencing
Guidelines de novo and reviews factual findings for clear error.
United States v. Villanueva, 408 F.3d 193, 203 & n.9 (5th Cir.),
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 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this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except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 CIR. R. 47.5.4.
No. 05-41653
-2-
cert. denied, 126 S. Ct. 268 (2005); United States v. Villegas,
404 F.3d 355, 359 (5th Cir. 2005). Although Gonzalez asserts
that he merely held the cocaine for a short period of time and
contacted the eventual courier, the record reveals that Gonzalez
recruited the courier, directed the movements of the courier, and
was responsible for paying the courier. Moreover, the large
amount of cocaine involved mitigates against granting the
adjustment. United States v. Rojas, 868 F.2d 1409, 1410
(5th Cir. 1989) (defendant entitled to neither minimal nor minor
participant status based on significant quantity of cocaine
defendant possessed). Based on these facts, we conclude that the
district court did not clearly err in denying a minor-role
adjustment.
AFFIRMED.