United States v. Jose Acosta-Leyva


Case: 18-51059 Document: 00514822802 Page: 1 Date Filed: 02/05/2019 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED No. 18-51059 February 5, 2019 Summary Calendar Lyle W. Cayce Clerk UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff – Appellee, v. JOSE MANUEL ACOSTA-LEYVA, Defendant – Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas USDC No. 4:18-CR-849-1 Before DAVIS, HAYNES, and GRAVES, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM:* Defendant, Jose Manuel Acosta-Leyva, appeals the district court’s pretrial detention order. Acosta-Leyva was charged with attempting to enter the United States with a counterfeit visa, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1546(a). Finding no abuse of discretion, we AFFIRM the district court’s judgment, and we DENY Acosta-Leyva’s motion to strike the Government’s response in part. * Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4. Case: 18-51059 Document: 00514822802 Page: 2 Date Filed: 02/05/2019 No. 18-51059 I. BACKGROUND. At Acosta-Leyva’s detention hearing, Customs and Border Protection enforcement officer Michael McCall testified that Acosta-Leyva, after being advised of his rights, admitted that he knowingly purchased a counterfeit visa for $6,500 from a man in Mexico so that he could reunite with his family and seek employment in the United States. Claudia Montiel testified that she had known Acosta-Leyva for twelve years, that she had been married to him for six years, and that they had four children. She testified that Acosta-Leyva had lived in Oklahoma with her for the entire time she had known him, until he voluntarily departed in 2017. She testified that her husband’s parents and sister lived in Mexico. She expressed her belief that her husband would come to court for his trial, and she agreed that he would live at home in Oklahoma if released. She also testified that Acosta-Leyva had started the process to become a resident alien but stopped in 2013 for financial reasons. Acosta- Leyva’s counsel represented that Acosta-Leyva was not employed at the time of the hearing. The magistrate judge ordered Acosta-Leyva released on a $20,000 bond with several conditions, including that he remain in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma when not meeting with his attorney or attending court. The Government appealed the magistrate judge’s release order to the district court, and the magistrate judge stayed the release order pending the appeal. The district court received briefing and heard argument on the Government’s appeal of the magistrate judge’s order. The district court ordered the reversal of the magistrate judge’s release order and ordered the detention of Acosta-Leyva, based on the strength of the evidence against him, the high likelihood of his conviction, and the five-year statutory maximum 2 Case: 18-51059 Document: 00514822802 Page: 3 Date Filed: 02/05/2019 No. 18-51059 sentence. 1 In the district court’s subsequent written order of detention pending trial, the district court expressly found “no condition or combination of conditions ...

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