Free Sentencing Memorandum - District Court of California - California

Case 4:07-cr-00600-SBA

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Filed 06/18/2008

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JOSEPH P. RUSSONIELLO (CABN 44332) United States Attorney BRIAN J. STRETCH (CABN 163973) Chief, Criminal Division JAMES C. MANN (CABN 221603) Assistant United States Attorney 1301 Clay Street, Suite 340-S Oakland, California 94612 Telephone: (510) 637-3705 Facsimile: (510) 637-3724 E-Mail: [email protected] Attorneys for Plaintiff UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA OAKLAND DIVISION UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. SERGIO LERMA-LOPEZ, Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) No. CR-07-00600 SBA GOVERNMENT'S SENTENCING MEMORANDUM Sentencing Date: June 23, 2008, 10:00 a.m., The Honorable Saundra Brown Armstrong

The United States of America requests that Defendant Sergio Lerma-Lopez be sentenced to 24 months imprisonment, the low end of the United States Sentencing Guidelines ("Guidelines") range, and three years of supervised release, consistent with the Plea Agreement. Pursuant to the Plea Agreement, the United States further requests that defendant's sentence in the above-captioned matter run consecutively to the seven-year prison sentence defendant received in Alameda County Superior Court, Case No. 157224. INTRODUCTION The parties anticipate that defendant will plead guilty to a single-count indictment alleging that defendant illegally reentered the United States following deportation in violation of Title 8, United States Code, Section 1326. The Presentence Investigation Report ("PSR")
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Case 4:07-cr-00600-SBA

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adequately sets forth the criminal activity. Consequently, the United States will not repeat the information in this section. ARGUMENT I. PURSUANT TO THE SENTENCING GUIDELINES, DEFENDANT SHOULD BE SENTENCED TO 24 MONTHS IMPRISONMENT AND THREE YEARS OF SUPERVISED RELEASE. The United States agrees with the Guidelines calculations set forth in the PSR resulting in a total offense level of 10 and a criminal history category of VI. PSR ¶¶ 12-21, 23-33. Pursuant to the Plea Agreement in this matter, the United States recommends a sentence of 24 months imprisonment. II. APPLICATION OF THE FACTORS IN 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) DEMONSTRATES THAT A SENTENCE OF 24 MONTHS IMPRISONMENT AND THREE YEARS OF SUPERVISED RELEASE IS REASONABLE. The Supreme Court recently noted that the "Guidelines . . . seek to embody the § 3553(a) considerations, both in principle and in practice." Rita v. United States, 127 S. Ct. 2456, 2464 (2007). These factors or considerations include the need for the sentence to promote respect for the law, afford adequate deterrence, and protect the public from further criminal conduct by the defendant. 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a). The sentence recommended by the parties achieves all of these sentencing goals. Defendant has previously been deported from the United States on three occasions. PSR ¶ 5. Additionally, defendant has amassed a substantial criminal record in the United States, including a conviction for shooting at an occupied residence in 2001 and a conviction for shooting a gun into the air on a public street in 2007. PSR ¶¶ 29-30. On or about December 4, 2007, defendant was sentenced to seven years in prison in connection with the latter conviction (Alameda County Superior Court, Case No. 157224); defendant is currently serving that sentence. PSR ¶ 30. A sentence of 24 months imprisonment to run consecutively to the sentence defendant received in Alameda County Superior Court, Case No. 157224, three-years supervised release, and a $100 special assessment is therefore reasonable and appropriate. CONCLUSION For the foregoing reasons, the United States respectfully requests that the Court accept the parties' Plea Agreement, and determine that defendant's Guidelines offense level is 10 and his
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criminal history category is VI. The United States further respectfully requests that, taking into consideration the sentencing factors set forth in section 3553(a), the Court sentence defendant to the low-end of the applicable Guidelines range, namely, 24 months imprisonment (to run consecutively to the sentence defendant received in Alameda County Superior Court, Case No. 157224), impose a three-year term of supervised release (under the terms and conditions recommended by the USPO), and order defendant to pay a $100 special assessment. DATED: June 18, 2008 Respectfully submitted, JOSEPH P. RUSSONIELLO United States Attorney /s/ JAMES C. MANN Assistant United States Attorney

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