2024 Supreme(US)(ca10) 117
COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT
United States – Appellant
Versus
Zamora – Respondent
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff – Appellee,
v. No. 22-4096
KEVIN ALONSO ZAMORA,
Defendant – Appellant. _________________________________
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Utah (D.C. No. 2:21-CR-00526-JNP-1) _________________________________
Bretta Pirie, Assistant Federal Public Defender (Scott Keith Wilson, Federal Public Defender, with her on the briefs), Salt Lake City, Utah for Defendant- Appellant.
Briggs J. Matheson, Assistant United States Attorney (Trina A. Higgins, United States Attorney, and Elizabethanne C. Stevens, Assistant United States Attorney, with him on the brief), Salt Lake City, Utah, for Plaintiff- Appellee. _________________________________
Before PHILLIPS, KELLY, and ROSSMAN, Circuit Judges. _________________________________
ROSSMAN, Circuit Judge. _________________________________ Appellate Case: 22-4096 Document: 010111027443 Date Filed: 04/05/2024 Page: 2
Appellant Kevin Alonso Zamora challenges the procedural
reasonableness of his sentence. He contends the district court erroneously
applied a two-level sentencing enhancement for reckless endangerment
during flight under § 3C1.2 of the United States Sentencing Guidelines.
Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm.
I1
A
In mid-December 2021, at approximately 1:00 a.m., local law
enforcement in Taylorsville, Utah, discovered a car reported stolen the day
before. The unoccupied car was parked outside an apartment building. As
five people approached the vehicle, officers moved in, some in their squad
cars and others on foot. All the suspects except Mr. Zamora got inside the
stolen vehicle and drove off, backing into a police car in the process. Mr.
Zamora fled on foot.
With law enforcement in pursuit, Mr. Zamora ran through the empty
streets of a residential neighborhood. He then crossed an intersection into
a commercial area, heading toward a Taco Bell. Mr. Zamora cut across the
1 The facts recited here derive from the appellate record, including the
district court filings, body camera footage, the sentencing hearing transcripts, and the undisputed description of Mr. Zamora’s offense conduct in the Presentence Investigation Report.
2 Appellate Case: 22-4096 Document: 010111027443 Date Filed: 04/05/2024 Page: 3
Taco Bell’s drive-thru lane. The restaurant was still open, and an occupied
car sat in the drive-thru next to the menu board. Mr. Zamora cut in front of
the car and collapsed face first on the sidewalk next to the drive-thru.
Officers approached Mr. Zamora and ordered him to show his hands. Mr.
Zamora appeared to comply. He remained on the sidewalk and was arrested.
An officer at the scene searched Mr. Zamora, lifting him up in the
process to rest against the base of a streetlight. Mr. Zamora was bleeding
from somewhere on his lower body. One officer stated he heard a “pop” as
Mr. Zamora ran around the Taco Bell, and another officer asked Mr. Zamora
“did you shoot yourself?” Body Camera Footage at 02:50-03:10. The officer
conducting the search emptied Mr. Zamora’s front pockets but did not find
a gun. He then cut Mr. Zamora’s right pant leg and saw a gun tucked inside
Mr. Zamora’s pants—between the waistband and his underwear. The officer
removed the gun and unloaded the magazine onto the sidewalk.
Mr. Zamora received medical assistance at the scene. An ambulance
transported him to a local hospital, and he underwent surgery. As it turned
out, the gun found on Mr. Zamora had fired, and the bullet shot through his
groin area, frac