United States v. Martin Saldana, 664 F. App'x 326

Martin Martinez Saldana was tried and convicted by a jury for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and for possessing an unregistered short-barreled shotgun; sentenced to life imprisonment.
Local and Virginia investigators conducted surveillance and controlled buys (from Eller, Shore, Pina); recorded conversations in which Saldana discussed law-enforcement pressure and plans to flee to Mexico.
Searches of Saldana’s property uncovered methamphetamine packaged with electrical tape/cellophane/dryer sheets, packaging materials, buried PVC pipes, about $50,000, firearms (including an unregistered short-barreled shotgun), ammunition, and personal items.
Multiple witnesses (Eller, Shore, Pina, Caudell, Hawkins) testified that they bought or sold methamphetamine for Saldana or on his behalf; some cooperated after arrests.
District court denied judgment of acquittal, declined downward departure/variance based on Saldana’s physical appearance and health, and imposed a Guidelines-based life sentence; Saldana appealed sufficiency of evidence and sentence reasonableness.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence for drug conspiracy conviction	Saldana argued the evidence was insufficient and cooperator testimony unreliable	Government pointed to recorded statements, controlled buys, physical evidence (drugs, packaging, cash, weapons), and multiple witnesses implicating Saldana as leader	Affirmed — substantial circumstantial and testimonial evidence supported conviction; credibility decisions for jury
Reasonableness of life sentence (procedural & substantive)	Saldana argued court failed to weigh §3553(a) mitigating factors (frailty, scars, vulnerability in prison, family ties, nonviolent history) and that sentence was substantively unreasonable	Government relied on Guidelines calculation, large quantity and purity of methamphetamine, leadership/kingpin role, use of property/citizenship to facilitate trafficking	Affirmed — court adequately considered §3553(a); within-Guidelines life sentence presumptively reasonable and not rebutted by Saldana’s mitigating facts

United States v. Engle, 676 F.3d 405 (4th Cir. 2012) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of evidence)
United States v. Howard, 773 F.3d 519 (4th Cir. 2014) (elements and proof of a drug conspiracy; circumstantial evidence allowed)
United States v. Foster, 507 F.3d 233 (4th Cir. 2007) (appellate courts do not reassess witness credibility when reviewing sufficiency)
Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38 (2007) (standard for procedural and substantive reasonableness of sentences)
United States v. Lymas, 781 F.3d 106 (4th Cir. 2015) (abuse-of-discretion standard for sentencing review)
United States v. Louthian, 756 F.3d 295 (4th Cir. 2014) (presumption of substantive reasonableness for within-Guidelines sentences)