March 17th, 2020

US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Opinions
United States v. Rodriguez-Leos

Docket: 19-40161
Opinion Date: March 16, 2020
Judge: James L. Dennis
Areas of Law: Criminal Law

The Fifth Circuit vacated defendant's sentence for unlawful possession of ammunition by a person admitted to the United States under a nonimmigrant visa. After determining that defendant's challenge was properly preserved, the court held that defendant was entitled to a three-level sentencing reduction for attempt under USSG 2X1.1(b)(1) because when he was arrested, he was not about to complete all the acts necessary for the separate offense of exportation of ammunition. In this case, all defendant had done was buy ammunition and, at the time of his arrest, he was not en route to deliver the ammunition. Furthermore, there was no definitive evidence of a temporal timeframe here. Accordingly, the court remanded for resentencing.

Read Opinion