United States v. Barahona-Montenegro

The Presentence Report ("PSR") concluded that Barahona-Montenegros Sentencing Guidelines range was 37 to 46 months of incarceration based on a total offense level of 17 and a criminal history category of IV. Barahona-Montenegro objected to the PSR, arguing that his criminal history category had been miscalculated and that he should be in criminal history category III, making his Guidelines range 30 to 37 months of incarceration. The district court sentenced Barahona-Montenegro to 48 months of incarceration. The district courts oral sentencing opinion did not resolve clearly the issue of criminal history category. At the sentencing hearing, the district court noted that this was a serious offense and that Barahona-Montenegro had five children out of wedlock whom he was not supporting. In a written judgment issued nearly two months after the sentencing hearing, the district court stated that Barahona-Montenegros criminal history category was III but that the district court had departed upward based on U.S.S.G. § 4A1.3 because it concluded that this category underrepresented BarahonaMontenegros criminal history. Barahona-Montenegro appeals his sentence as procedurally and substantively unreasonable.