U.S. v. Gonzales

Full title: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee v. Gregory Steven GONZALES…

Court: United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit

Date published: Mar 11, 2008

269 F. App'x 434 (5th Cir. 2008)

Opinion

No. 07-10669 Summary Calendar.

March 11, 2008.

Mark L. Nichols, Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

John Steven Bush, Law Office of J. Steven Bush, Fort Worth, TX, for Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, USDC No. 4:05-CR-30-2.

Before HIGGINBOTHAM, STEWART, and ELROD, Circuit Judges.

PER CURIAM:[fn*] [fn*] Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.

Gregory Gonzales appeals from the district court's judgment sentencing him to consecutive terms of 120 and 68 months of imprisonment on two counts of possession of an unregistered firearm. We previously vacated the district court's original judgment imposing concurrent sentences of 188 months of imprisonment because the maximum statutory sentence for the offense is 10 years of imprisonment. United States v. Gonzales, 236 Fed.Appx. 1, 7 (5th Cir. 2007).

Gonzales contends that the imposition of consecutive sentences violated the Double Jeopardy Clause and that his sentence was unreasonable. He further contends that his plea of guilty of one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking offense was not supported by a factual basis.

Each firearm is a unit of prosecution under 26 U.S.C. § 5861(d). United States v. Tarrant, 460 F.2d 701, 702 (5th Cir. 1972). The imposition of consecutive sentences did not violate the Double Jeopardy Clause. See United States v. Prestenbach, 230 F.3d 780 (5th Cir. 2000).

Gonzales's Guideline sentencing range was 151-188 months of imprisonment, more than the 10-year statutory maximum. The district court followed the guidance of the Sentencing Guidelines in imposing consecutive sentences to achieve an aggregate sentence within the applicable sentencing range. See U.S.S.G. § 5G1.2(d). The sentence is reasonable. See United States v. Alonzo, 435 F.3d 551, 554 (5th Cir. 2006).

Finally, Gonzales challenged the factual basis to support his conviction in his first appeal, and we found his challenge meritless. See Gonzales, 236 Fed.Appx. at 6. That holding is the law of the case, and it cannot be revisited. See United States v. Elizondo, 475 F.3d 692, 695 (5th Cir. 2007), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 127 S.Ct. 1865, 167 L.Ed.2d 355 (2007).

AFFIRMED.