United States v. Arturo Bustos


In the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit No. 18-1388 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ARTURO BUSTOS, Defendant-Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division. No. 16 CR 00668-4 — Ronald A. Guzmán, Judge. ARGUED NOVEMBER 5, 2018 — DECIDED JANUARY 10, 2019 Before BAUER, ROVNER, and ST. EVE, Circuit Judges. BAUER, Circuit Judge. Arturo Bustos conspired with his co- defendants to deliver 995 grams of heroin to an undercover officer. Bustos pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance and was sentenced to 100- months imprisonment. Bustos now appeals his 100-month sentence. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. 2 No. 18-1388 I. BACKGROUND Arturo Bustos, Enemicio Bustos, Omar Landa, and Tomas Landa conspired to sell heroin to an undercover officer (“UCO”). Arturo and Enemicio engaged in multiple phone conversations with the UCO, arranging a date, time, and location to sell 995 grams of heroin for $180,000. On October 12, 2016, Enemicio drove Arturo to the meet location. Arturo entered the UCO’s car and instructed him to drive to a second location where he would receive the heroin. At the second location, Omar entered the vehicle to verify that the UCO brought the $180,000 in cash. With the cash verified, Tomas then arrived carrying a firearm and the 995 grams of heroin. The four men were charged with conspiracy to possess and distribute a mixture containing 100 grams or more of heroin on October 12, 2016, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846 (Count Two), and distribution of 100 or more grams of heroin in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (2) (Count Three). Enemicio was additionally charged with violating 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) for a previous heroin deal which took place on September 9, 2016 (Count One). Tomas was additionally charged with possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) (Count Four). Enemicio, whose criminal history consisted of one prior burglary charge, was sentenced to 65 months of imprisonment. Tomas received a 110-month sentence. Arturo admitted that he agreed to distribute 995 grams of heroin to the UCO and pleaded guilty to Count Two of the indictment. He admitted that he and Enemicio engaged in No. 18-1388 3 phone conversations with the UCO to set up the transaction and that he and Omar met with the UCO to verify he had the cash necessary to buy the heroin. At the sentencing hearing, the district court calculated Arturo’s criminal history category as V for the following reasons. On September 24, 2009, Arturo was convicted of manufacturing and delivering cocaine. Although an arrest warrant was issued, and he was charged in 1990, he avoided arrest and sentencing until 2009. If the 1990 case had proceeded at a more typical pace, this conviction would have been too old to enhance the criminal history calculation and resulted in a criminal history category of III, ...

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