Case: 21-51051 Document: 00516572444 Page: 1 Date Filed: 12/09/2022 United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit FILED December 9, 2022 No. 21-51051 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk United States of America, Plaintiff—Appellee, versus Jorge Luis Monsivais, Jr., Defendant—Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas USDC No. 2:18-CR-1463-1 Before Jones, Smith, and Graves, Circuit Judges. Per Curiam:* Jorge Luis Monsivais, Jr. was convicted on several counts of violating 8 U.S.C. § 1324 for harboring and transporting illegal aliens resulting in serious bodily injury and death. On appeal, he challenges the procedural and substantive reasonableness of his non-guideline sentence. For the reasons given below, we AFFIRM. * Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4.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: 21-51051 Document: 00516572444 Page: 2 Date Filed: 12/09/2022 No. 21-51051 I Monsivais drove a vehicle containing a large group of illegal aliens. When the United States Border Patrol pursued his vehicle, Monsivais led them on a high-speed chase for several miles. He passed vehicles using the oncoming traffic lane and shoulder and surpassed 95 miles per hour in a 35 mile-per-hour zone. When Monsivais tried to overtake a vehicle using the shoulder, Monsivais lost control of his own and rolled across the highway. While Monsivais’s vehicle rolled, most of the alien passengers were ejected from the vehicle. Four of them died on the scene. Nine others suffered serious bodily and life-threatening injuries, one of whom died on the way to the hospital. The Border Patrol arrested Monsivais. Monsivais confessed. He identified his co-conspirators, the stash house they operated in Eagle Pass, Texas, and described his role as a cook for the several illegal aliens at that house. Monsivais would have received one hundred dollars for each of the thirteen aliens he transported. Monsivais admitted to several prior trips. Monsivais pled guilty to (1) conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, resulting in death; (2) conspiracy to transport illegal aliens, which caused serious bodily injury; (3) conspiracy to conceal or harbor illegal aliens; (4) transporting illegal aliens, causing death; and (4) transporting illegal aliens, which caused serious bodily, all in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324. Counts one and four carry a maximum term of life imprisonment, counts two and five carry a maximum term of twenty years’ imprisonment, and count three carries a maximum term of ten years’ imprisonment. 8 U.S.C. § 1324(a)(1)(A)(ii),(v)(I); 8 U.S.C. § 1324(B)(i), (iii), (iv). Monsivais’s total offense level was calculated as 30. His criminal history category was III because he committed this offense while serving a 2 Case: 21-51051 Document: 00516572444 Page: 3 Date Filed: 12/09/2022 No. 21-51051 sentence for another felony immigration conviction under 8 U.S.C. § 1324. The Sentencing Guidelines range was 121 to 151 months. The government requested an above-guideline sentence. The district court agreed. It sentenced Monsivais to 360 …
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