United States v. Benito Lara, No. 22-1063 (1st Cir. 2022)
The First Circuit affirmed Defendant’s conviction of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl, holding that Defendant was not entitled to relief on his allegations of error brought on appeal.
After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with the intent to distribute fentanyl. The district court sentenced Defendant to the mandatory minimum of 120 months’ imprisonment. The First Circuit affirmed, holding that the district court (1) did not clearly err when it found that Defendant failed to establish an improper government motive; and (2) did not clearly err when it rejected Defendant’s sentencing factor manipulation claim.