United States v. Eduardo Lopez

FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION NOV 19 2012 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 12-50028 Plaintiff - Appellee, D.C. No. 2:11-cr-00333-ABC-1 v. MEMORANDUM * EDUARDO ROBERTO BITIA LOPEZ, AKA Eduardo Roberto Bitia, AKA Manuel Corado Lopez, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of California Audrey B. Collins, District Judge, Presiding ** Submitted November 13, 2012 Before: CANBY, TROTT, and W. FLETCHER, Circuit Judges. Eduardo Lopez appeals the 73-month sentence imposed following his guilty plea to being a deported alien found in the United States in violation of 8 U.S.C. § * 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). 1326. We have jurisdiction under 18 U.S.C. § 3742(a) and 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm. Because Lopez failed to object to the district court’s alleged procedural errors at sentencing, we review for plain error. United States v. Sylvester Norman Knows His Gun, III, 438 F.3d 913, 918 (9th Cir. 2005). Contrary to Lopez’s assertion, the district court did not treat the Sentencing Guidelines as establishing a presumptive sentence, but rather, properly treated the Sentencing Guidelines as advisory, and properly considered the § 3553(a) sentencing factors. See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 50 n.6 (2007). We review the substantive reasonableness of a sentence for abuse of discretion. United States v. Autery, 555 F.3d 864, 871 (9th Cir. 2008). When a district court properly applies the Sentencing Guidelines, “‘it is probable that the sentence is reasonable.’” United States v. Carty, 520 F.3d 984, 994 (9th Cir. 2008) (en banc) (quoting Rita v. United States, 551 U.S. 338, 551 (2007)). Here, the district court properly applied the Guidelines and imposed a sentence at the lower end of the applicable Guidelines range based on a reasonable application of the § 3553(a) factors. The district court also acted within its discretion in denying Lopez a downward departure based on his health problems. See e.g. United States v. 2 12-50028 Tadeo, 222 F.3d 623, 627 (9th Cir. 2000). We conclude that the sentence imposed by the district court was substantively reasonable. AFFIRMED. 3 12-50028