No. 23-1329

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Appellee,

v.

JASON CANDELARIO,

Defendant, Appellant.

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MAINE

[Hon. Jon D. Levy, U.S. District Judge]

Before

Barron, Chief Judge, Selya and Gelpí, Circuit Judges.

Edward S. MacColl and Thompson, Bull, Bass & MacColl, LLC, P.A. on brief for appellant. Darcie N. McElwee, United States Attorney, and Brian S. Kleinbord, Assistant United States Attorney, on brief for appellee.

June 24, 2024 SELYA, Circuit Judge. Defendant-appellant Jason Candelario challenges his top-of-the-range sentence, arguing that it is substantively unreasonable and creates an unwarranted disparity with the sentences imposed on his codefendants. Concluding, as we do, that the appellant's sentence was both reasonable and proportionate, we affirm.

I

We briefly rehearse the relevant facts and travel of the case. "Where, as here, a sentencing appeal follows a guilty plea, we glean the relevant facts from the change-of-plea colloquy, the unchallenged portions of the presentence investigation report (PSI Report), and the record of the disposition hearing." United States v. Vargas, 560 F.3d 45, 47 (1st Cir. 2009).

In 2019, the appellant and three codefendants conspired to rob a Maine resident of drugs and money. On the day of the planned robbery, the appellant and three of his codefendants drove to the victim's residence. The appellant and another member of his crew, masked and armed, waited nearby for the victim to return home. Shortly thereafter, the victim, accompanied by his girlfriend and a female acquaintance,1 arrived in a truck and parked in the garage. The appellant and his companion then entered the garage. The appellant's confederate approached the vehicle,

1This acquaintance was later implicated in the robbery. She cooperated with the authorities, however, and was not charged.

- 2 - struck the passenger-side truck window with the butt of his gun, and told the victim's girlfriend (who was in the passenger seat) not to make eye contact with him or call 911.

Meanwhile, the appellant approached the victim, who wrestled the appellant to the ground. The appellant's confederate then shot the victim in the abdomen. The two attackers subsequently fled, and the victim (who ultimately survived) was rushed to the hospital.

About two years later, a federal grand jury sitting in the District of Maine returned an indictment against four defendants — the appellant, the second attacker, a third defendant who drove the getaway vehicle, and a fourth defendant who participated in organizing the robbery and provided the firearms used. In November of 2022, the appellant entered a guilty plea to counts charging conspiracy to commit a Hobbs Act robbery, see 18 U.S.C. § 1951(a); interference with commerce by violence, and aiding and abetting, see id.; 18 U.S.C. § 2; and illegally possessing a firearm, see 18 U.S.C. § 924(a)(2). His three codefendants also entered guilty pleas to various counts.

The district court convened the appellant's disposition hearing on March 27, 2023. At the outset, the court addressed the disputed fact of whether the appellant or another defendant was the assailant who, du