United States v. Marrero Burgos, 133 F.4th 183

Jean Carlos Marrero-Burgos pleaded guilty in federal court to (1) possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and (2) possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, after being apprehended at a house in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, with a modified automatic pistol, large amounts of ammunition, and drugs present.
Both Marrero and the government recommended a 90-month sentence, above the guidelines range of 78-84 months, due to aggravating circumstances.
The district court imposed a 108-month sentence, citing the dangerousness of the weapon, the large quantity of ammunition, the prevalence of gun violence in Puerto Rico, and high recidivism rates among firearm offenders.
Marrero’s presentence investigation linked him to the contraband and ammunition through a video on his phone and his driver's license found near the ammunition.
Marrero appealed, arguing the sentence was overly harsh due to erroneous factfinding (specifically, connecting him to a bag of ammunition) and improper reliance on community-level considerations over case-specific facts.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Factual finding on ammunition possession	No sufficient evidence tied him to ammo bag; mere presence isn't enough	Video, license, and circumstantial evidence link him to the bag	District court’s finding not clearly erroneous
Reliance on community-based characteristics	Court gave too much weight to community factors, not enough to case facts	Sentence based on a mix of individualized and community factors	No procedural error; court used permissible factors
Propriety of upward variance	24-month variance above guidelines was excessive	Firearm, ammo, dismissed charges, and community factors justified	Upward variance reasonable and justified
Requirement to follow parties' recommendation	Court should have limited variance per joint recommendation	Sentencing court not bound by plea recommendations	District court not required to follow parties’ recommendation

United States v. Flores-Machicote, 706 F.3d 16 (1st Cir. 2013) (district court may ground upward variances in both individualized and community-based factors, so long as individualized attention given)
United States v. Guzmán-Montañez, 756 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2014) (constructive possession of contraband may be proven by circumstantial evidence)
United States v. Calle-Cardenas, 837 F.2d 30 (1st Cir. 1988) (control over area where contraband is found can support possession inference)
United States v. Rivera-Berríos, 968 F.3d 130 (1st Cir. 2020) (improper for sentencing to rest solely on community-based factors already incorporated in guidelines)
United States v. Carrero-Hernández, 643 F.3d 344 (1st Cir. 2011) (sentencing court’s adoption of one plausible view of evidence not clear error)