SupremeToday Landscape Ad
Back
Next
Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation
Listen Article Pause Article
judgment-img

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

Click Here to Read the rest of this document
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
SupremeToday Portrait Ad
supreme today icon
whatsapp-icon Back to top