United States v. Gonzalez, No. 20-1235 (7th Cir. 2021)
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Gonzalez, a member of the Latin Kings street gang, sold a gun to a fellow Latin Kings member, who was a confidential government source. The source assisted law enforcement in recording conversations between himself and Gonzalez, including a call in which Gonzalez stated that he could sell him two more firearms the following day. Gonzalez, who had an earlier felony conviction for aggravated robbery, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon, 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(1). During Probation Office interviews, Gonzalez made “several inconsistent statements” about his identity and lied about his gang membership.
The district court awarded Gonzalez a three‐point reduction in his offense level for accepting responsibility but concluded that Gonzalez’s material misrepresentations merited a two‐level enhancement for obstruction of justice, resulting in a sentencing range of 33-41 months. The court found this to be inadequate, in light of the 18 U.S.C. 3553(a) factors and imposed a sentence of 72 months’ imprisonment. The Seventh Circuit affirmed. While a court must always consult the guidelines and take them into account, the ultimate length of a sentence (within statutory maxima and minima) is committed to the discretion of the judge, who is constrained by the factors in 18 U.S.C. 3553(a). Gonzalez’s sentence is not substantively unreasonable.
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