UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ANTONIO SANCHEZ (2017)

MEMORANDUM*

Antonio Sanchez appeals from the district court's judgment and challenges the 180-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846; distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, aiding and abetting, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A)(viii), and 18 U.S.C. § 2(a); and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.

Sanchez contends that the district court erred by failing to consider evidence of derivative entrapment and its resulting sentencing entrapment as a mitigating factor to forego imposition of the five-year sentence for his section 924(c) conviction. We disagree. Sanchez's guilty plea waived any entrapment defense to his conviction. See United States v. Lopez-Armenta, 400 F.3d 1173, 1175 (9th Cir. 2005). Further, having suffered that conviction, Sanchez was subject to its mandatory five-year consecutive sentence, and the district court had no authority to depart below it. See 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i); United States v. Wipf, 620 F.3d 1168, 1170-71 (9th Cir. 2010) (substantial assistance and safety valve are the only grounds for imposing a sentence below a mandatory minimum).

AFFIRMED.