Case: 17-51077 Document: 00515400584 Page: 1 Date Filed: 04/30/2020 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 17-51077 FILED April 30, 2020 Lyle W. Cayce UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Clerk Plaintiff - Appellee v. JORGE EDUARDO NAVA, Defendant - Appellant Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas Before OWEN, Chief Judge, and HIGGINBOTHAM and WILLETT, Circuit Judges. PATRICK E. HIGGINBOTHAM, Circuit Judge: Appellant Jorge Eduardo Nava challenges the two concurrent 480-month sentences he received after a jury convicted him of drug-trafficking offenses. Nava contends that the district court erred in holding him accountable for an uncharged methamphetamine seizure, both because the seizure did not qualify as relevant conduct under the Sentencing Guidelines and because the district court applied an inappropriate standard of proof in making its relevant- conduct determination. Nava also challenges the offense-level adjustment he received for abusing a position of trust. Finding no reversible error, we affirm. Case: 17-51077 Document: 00515400584 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/30/2020 No. 17-51077 I. The Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) began investigating Nava on August 15, 2016, when a police officer in Gulfport, Mississippi, stopped a Ford F-150 pickup truck for a traffic violation. A records check revealed that the vehicle was registered to Nava, who had purchased it only a few days earlier. Nava was not with the truck, which was being driven by a person identified in the record as Co-Conspirator 1 (“CC-1”). Upon questioning, CC-1 stated that Nava had registered the vehicle in his own name because CC-1 did not have a valid driver’s license. A search of the vehicle revealed 29 kilograms of pure liquid methamphetamine concealed within the gas tank. CC-1 told officers he had picked up the truck in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, and had been instructed to drive to Atlanta, where he was to contact a man known as “Guacho” for further instructions. 1 CC-1 did not indicate whether Nava played any role in the meth operation beyond purchasing and registering the truck. A few weeks later, on September 9, agents detained Nava at a border crossing and interviewed him about the methamphetamine seizure. Nava denied any involvement with the Gulfport load, but he volunteered to assist the DEA by providing information about cocaine trafficking. Nava claimed that members of drug-trafficking organizations (“DTOs”) frequented a bar he owned in Ciudad Juarez, where he overhead them discussing their operations. In addition, Nava said he was familiar with “a lot of illegal activity” because his father had been involved in a DTO in Mexico. Nava met with agents again that evening at his apartment in El Paso, Texas, where he signed a confidential source agreement promising to provide information in exchange for money. Over the ensuing days, Nava explained The record does not indicate CC-1’s gender. Male pronouns are used here for 1 simplicity. 2 Case: 17-51077 Document: 00515400584 Page: 3 Date Filed: 04/30/2020 No. 17-51077 how the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva Generacion ...
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