UNITED STATES v. MATA BECERRA (2021)

[Unpublished]

Gabriel Mata-Becerra received a 51-month prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute a controlled substance. See 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A), 846. Mata-Becerra's counsel requests permission to withdraw and, in an Anders brief, suggests that the sentence is substantively unreasonable. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967). We affirm.

We conclude that Mata-Becerra's sentence is substantively reasonable. See United States v. McKanry, 628 F.3d 1010, 1022 (8th Cir. 2011) (recognizing that “it is nearly inconceivable” that once a district court has varied downward, it “abuse[s] its discretion in not varying downward [even] further” (quotation marks omitted)). The record establishes that the district court ¹ sufficiently considered the statutory sentencing factors, 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), and did not rely on an improper factor or commit a clear error of judgment. See United States v. Feemster, 572 F.3d 455, 461 (8th Cir. 2009) (en banc).

Finally, we have independently reviewed the record and conclude that no other non-frivolous issues exist. See Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 82–83, 109 S.Ct. 346, 102 L.Ed.2d 300 (1988). We accordingly affirm the judgment of the district court and grant counsel permission to withdraw.

FOOTNOTES

1.   The Honorable Leonard T. Strand, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa.

PER CURIAM.