April 6, 2026, opinions

Posted on by tadbartlett

Unpublished decisions

  • United States v. Shaquaila Lewis, 25-30104, appeal from W.D. La.
    • per curiam (Elrod, Higginbotham, Graves) (oral argument), criminal, sentencing
    • Affirming 27-month sentence on conviction of wire fraud arising from a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration by submitting fraudulent PPP and Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications, obtaining $1,196,588 in loan proceeds.
    • Lewis challenged her 27-month sentence, arguing the district court clearly erred in applying the sophisticated-means sentencing enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2B1.1(b)(10)(C). Lewis emphasized that the district court itself called her scheme “remarkably simple in approach” and argued she was not the mastermind.
    • The court held that even a “remarkably simple” scheme can qualify for the sophisticated-means enhancement if the defendant’s conduct made the offense more difficult to detect. Lewis used multiple fraudulent tax documents, wrote fake payroll checks to herself to disguise the nature of the funds, and registered her business after submitting her initial PPP application to make the company appear legitimate—all of which concealed the fraud. The court further held that whether Lewis was the “mastermind” is immaterial under U.S.S.G. § 1B1.3(a)(1)(A)–(B), which bases enhancements on all acts committed, aided, or caused by the defendant and on foreseeable acts of co-conspirators.
  • United States v. Erick Roman Gonzalez, 25-20330, appeal from S.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Smith, Higginson, Wilson) (no oral argument), criminal
    • Granting Anders motion to withdraw, and dismissing appeal.
  • United States v. Pedro Delgado-Ramirez, 25-10993, appeal from N.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Wiener, Willett, Wilson) (no oral argument), criminal, sentencing
    • Affirming conviction and sentence for illegal reentry.
  • United States v. Robert Spencer, 25-40187, appeal from S.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Stewart, Graves, Oldham) (no oral argument), criminal, Fourth Amendment
    • Affirming conviction of possession of a firearm by a felon and possession of an explosive device.
    • Spencer challenged the denial of his motion to suppress evidence. He argued that officers violated the Fourth Amendment by surrounding his house, pointing guns, and ordering him outside, and that there was no reasonable suspicion or probable cause for his warrantless arrest.
    • The court found no clear error in the district court’s determination that the initial warrantless entry and protective sweep were justified by exigent circumstances, citing Case v. Montana, 146 S. Ct. 500 (2026). Officers had probable cause for a warrantless arrest. The court further held that even assuming a Fourth Amendment violation, the challenged evidence was admissible under the attenuation doctrine of Utah v. Strieff, 579 U.S. 232 (2016), given intervening circumstances, lack of temporal proximity, and the absence of flagrant misconduct.
  • United States v. John Marion LeBlanc, III, 25-40332, appeal from E.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Barksdale, Oldham, Douglas) (no oral argument), criminal, sentencing
    • Affirming 162-month sentence on conviction of possession of a firearm by a felon.
    • LeBlanc challenged three sentencing enhancements under U.S.S.G. § 2K2.1: (b)(6)(B) (firearm possessed in connection with another felony), (b)(1)(A) (offense involving three to seven firearms), and (b)(4)(A) (stolen firearm). Because he did not preserve the issues below, review was for plain error only.
    • The court held that LeBlanc could not show clear-or-obvious error on any enhancement. The PSR showed officers found two firearms and cocaine in a vehicle with LeBlanc, tying the firearms to drug trafficking, and LeBlanc did not rebut those facts. His constructive-possession argument failed under plain-error review as to all three challenged enhancements.
  • United States v. Job Jasso, 25-50198, c/w 25-50215, appeal from W.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Richman, Southwick, Willett) (no oral argument), criminal, sufficiency of evidence
    • Affirming conviction of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
    • Viewing the evidence most favorably to the verdict, the court held that a reasonable juror could conclude Jasso possessed firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking because stolen, loaded handguns he illegally possessed were found within inches of the fentanyl pills he was convicted of possessing with intent to distribute.
  • Johnson v. Epsilon Data Management, L.L.C., No. 25-10866, appeal from N.D. Tex.
    • per curiam (Wiener, Willett, Wilson) (no oral argument), § 1983
    • Affirming judgment for defendant on civil rights claims, with no description of issues on appeal.