IN THE SUPREME COURT OF IOWA No. 18–0955 Filed October 18, 2019 STATE OF IOWA, Appellee, vs. GUILLERMO AVALOS VALDEZ, Appellant. Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Woodbury County, John D. Ackerman, Judge. The defendant appeals his sentence of incarceration, arguing the district court erred in declining to order probation. AFFIRMED. Scott M. Wadding of Sease & Wadding, Des Moines, for appellant. Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Kyle Hanson, Assistant Attorney General, Patrick Jennings, County Attorney, and Kristine Timmins, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee. 2 MANSFIELD, Justice. This case presents the question whether immigration status may be considered during sentencing. The defendant in this case is a Mexican national who pled guilty to and was convicted of a class “C” felony drug offense. He was placed on an immigration hold for likely deportation. At sentencing, the defendant sought probation, while the State requested incarceration. The district court imposed a prison sentence, expressing the view that it would not be feasible to order probation for someone who was going to be deported to Mexico. The defendant appeals. On appeal, we conclude, like the majority of other jurisdictions, that immigration status per se is not an appropriate sentencing consideration, but that immigration status may be taken into account to the extent it affects an otherwise relevant sentencing factor. We also conclude that on this record, the district court properly determined that probation would not be appropriate for someone whose probation would have to be supervised in Mexico. We therefore affirm the defendant’s conviction and sentence. I. Facts and Procedural History. Guillermo Avalos Valdez was born in Mexico in 1981. In 1997, he entered the United States without legal permission. He settled in Merced, California. On December 24, 2017, Avalos Valdez was stopped on Interstate 29 in Woodbury County for driving eighty-four miles per hour in a seventy miles-per-hour zone. As two Woodbury County deputies approached the vehicle, they could smell marijuana coming from it. They removed Avalos Valdez and a female passenger from the vehicle. A subsequent search uncovered two hockey-sized duffle bags and two boxes with Christmas- themed wrapping paper containing a total of 184 pounds of marijuana, 3 mostly divided into individually heat-sealed one-pound bags. A .45 caliber pistol with a loaded magazine and Grim Reaper handgrips was found under the front passenger seat. Avalos Valdez had a tattoo showing a Grim Reaper with a marijuana leaf, and the female passenger also had a Grim Reaper tattoo. The vehicle was registered to an “Iran Guillermo Avalos Valdez.” Avalos Valdez was charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, more than fifty but not more than 100 kilograms of marijuana, a class “C” felony. See Iowa Code § 124.401(1)(c)(5) (2017). He was also charged with a drug stamp tax violation, a class “D” felony. See id. § 453B.12(2). Avalos Valdez waived speedy trial. On May 18, 2018, Avalos Valdez entered into a written agreement with the State to plead guilty to the possession with intent to deliver count, ...
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