United States Court of Appeals For the First Circuit No. 22-1473 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Appellee, v. JESUS ARLEY MUNERA-GOMEZ, Defendant, Appellant. APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS [Hon. Nathaniel M. Gorton, U.S. District Judge] Before Gelpí, Lynch, and Howard, Circuit Judges. David Eric Burdette, with whom Murat Erkan and Erkan & Associates were on brief, for appellant. Alexia R. De Vincentis, Assistant United States Attorney, with whom Rachael S. Rollins, United States Attorney, was on brief, for appellee. June 7, 2023 GELPÍ, Circuit Judge. Defendant-Appellant Jesus Arley Munera-Gomez ("Munera") appeals his conviction and subsequent sentence for attempting to possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846. Specifically, Munera contends that the district court erred by declining to order the government to provide use immunity to a defense witness, resulting in a violation of Munera's due process rights; precluding Munera's girlfriend from testifying about the undue pressure placed on Munera by a confidential source, thus undermining his entrapment defense; refusing to apply safety valve relief at sentencing, despite Munera satisfying the eligibility criteria; and impermissibly considering Munera's immigration status at sentencing. Finding his first three challenges lacking and his final argument waived, we affirm. I. Background We begin by laying out the basic facts and procedural history of the case, with elaboration as needed in our analysis of the legal issues. A. Facts In August 2019, a confidential source ("CS") for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration ("DEA") approached Munera in a Colombian billiards bar in East Boston after hearing someone - 2 - refer to him as "Pikachu."1 CS testified that he recognized the nickname as belonging to someone who had supplied cocaine to his former business partners, Fabio and Girado Quijano. After CS introduced himself to Munera, the two interacted on several occasions at the billiards bar -- none of these conversations were recorded. During one of these interactions, CS broached the subject of doing a drug transaction with Munera, and the two agreed to meet away from the bar to discuss the details. The first recorded meeting occurred on October 23, 2019, where CS, at the DEA's direction, arranged to meet Munera at a restaurant to discuss the drug transaction. During the meeting, Munera told his friend (who had accompanied him) that he had talked to CS before but "didn't even know who he was." During the conversation, Munera acknowledged seeing the unusual round discs of cocaine (as opposed to typical bricks) that CS had distributed in East Boston at the beginning of 2019. Munera also told CS that, at that time, he was getting twenty to thirty kilograms of cocaine from a Mexican supplier. CS informed Munera that, if they closed a deal, Munera would have to cover the transportation cost for the cocaine up front, and Munera agreed, responding, "That's the way it is. Yes." 1 During his testimony, Munera acknowledged going by the nickname "Pikachu." - 3 - The …
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