Case: 21-40381 Document: 00516175860 Page: 1 Date Filed: 01/21/2022 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED January 21, 2022 No. 21-40381 Summary Calendar Lyle W. Cayce Clerk United States of America, Plaintiff—Appellee, versus Eduardo Nicolas Barragan-Balderas, Defendant—Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas USDC No. 7:08-CR-1168-2 Before Southwick, Oldham, and Wilson, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam:* Eduardo Nicolas Barragan-Balderas pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and conspiring to engage in money laundering. The district court sentenced him within the applicable guidelines range to 235 months of imprisonment on * Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4. Case: 21-40381 Document: 00516175860 Page: 2 Date Filed: 01/21/2022 No. 21-40381 each count, to run concurrently, and five years of supervised release. Barragan-Balderas now appeals his sentence, arguing that the district court erred when it imposed a three-level enhancement pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(b) for being a manager or supervisor of Jose Hinojosa’s drug trafficking organization. Barragan-Balderas argues that his admissions at rearraignment regarding his maintenance of the drug trafficking organization’s financial records and his actions gleaned from recorded conversations as set forth in the presentence report (PSR) did not rise to the level of a manager or supervisor under § 3B1.1(b). Because he preserved this argument, we review the district court’s factual findings for clear error. See United States v. Fillmore, 889 F.3d 249, 255 (5th Cir. 2018); United States v. Medina-Anicacio, 325 F.3d 638, 642 (5th Cir. 2003). The district court could plausibly infer that Barragan-Balderas exercised supervisory or managerial responsibility within the drug trafficking organization in relation to the distribution and transportation of cocaine and money proceeds between Mexico and Houston, Texas. See United States v. Guzman-Reyes, 853 F.3d 260, 265 (5th Cir. 2017). Information gathered from recorded conversations, which Barragan-Balderas acknowledges had sufficient indicia of reliability, showed that Barragan-Balderas frequently coordinated, communicated, and checked in with individuals within the organization who were tasked with delivering drugs and transporting drug proceeds. See United States v. Reagan, 725 F.3d 471, 494 (5th Cir. 2013); § 3B1.1, comment. (n.4). The recordings and post-arrest statements likewise showed that Barragan-Balderas instructed Ricardo Cuellar to retrieve drug proceeds in Houston and transport the proceeds to Mexico and that Barragan-Balderas was a point of contact for Cuellar and another coconspirator during the search of their vehicle which was loaded with drug proceeds. See § 3B1.1, comment. (n.2). In addition, Barragan-Balderas 2 Case: 21-40381 Document: 00516175860 Page: 3 Date Filed: 01/21/2022 No. 21-40381 admitted that he was responsible for maintaining records of the organization’s inventory and finances. See United States v. Rose, 449 F.3d 627, 633 (5th Cir. 2006); § 3B1.1, comment. (n.2). The district court’s factual finding that Barragan-Balderas was a manager or supervisor was …
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