United States v. Patricio Escobar, III
2017 U.S. App. LEXIS 14206
| 5th Cir. | 2017Background
- Escobar pleaded guilty to possession with intent to distribute ~176 kg of marijuana; PSR set base offense level 24, reduced 2 levels for acceptance, and criminal history category V (11 points) including 3 points for a 1991 Texas burglary-of-a-vehicle conviction.
- District court adopted the PSR except granted one additional acceptance point, yielding total offense level 21, CHC V, guideline range 70–87 months; sentenced Escobar to 87 months and 5 years supervised release.
- Escobar objected in district court seeking (1) a mitigating-role reduction under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2 (claimed he was a courier) and (2) exclusion of three criminal-history points for the 1991 conviction.
- At sentencing, facts showed Escobar alone drove the truck with 22 bundles (176.52 kg), fled law enforcement, resisted (tased ineffectively), and ran toward associates hiding nearby; no evidence presented of active co-conspirators.
- District court denied the § 3B1.2 reduction and counted the 1991 conviction; on appeal the court reviewed the role-denial for clear error and the criminal-history argument for plain error due to forfeiture of the specific arguments raised on appeal.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (Escobar) | Defendant's Argument (Government / District Ct) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether Escobar was entitled to a mitigating-role reduction under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.2 | Escobar asserted he was merely a courier/minor participant and worked under direction of others | Court: facts (solo driving, large load, flight and resistance, no proof of others’ involvement) support denial; no per se rule that couriers are ineligible | Affirmed: no clear error denying reduction |
| Whether three criminal-history points for 1991 burglary-of-vehicle should be excluded | Escobar now argues the 1991 sentence didn’t involve incarceration during the 15-year lookback (halfway-house or custody-pending-revocation arguments) | PSR identified state custody in Oct 2000 within the 15-year window; Escobar did not press the specific arguments below | Affirmed: Escobar forfeited these specific challenges; no plain error |
Key Cases Cited
- United States v. Torres-Hernandez, 843 F.3d 203 (5th Cir. 2016) (standard of review and sufficiency of district court § 3B1.2 factual findings)
- United States v. Sanchez-Villarreal, 857 F.3d 714 (5th Cir. 2017) (reversal where district court applied a per se rule denying § 3B1.2 reduction)
- United States v. Torres, 856 F.3d 1095 (5th Cir. 2017) (discussing when Guidelines application is a straightforward question)
- United States v. Sanchez-Espinal, 762 F.3d 425 (5th Cir. 2014) (contemporaneous-objection rule and forfeiture on appeal)
- United States v. Villanueva, 408 F.3d 193 (5th Cir. 2005) (clear-error review of district court factual findings)