United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit

FILED April 21, 2021 No. 20-50343 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk

United States of America,

Plaintiff—Appellee,

versus

Yurika Huerta,

Defendant—Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas USDC No. 7:19-CR-250-2

Before Elrod, Willett, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges. Jennifer Walker Elrod, Circuit Judge: * Yurika Huerta pleaded guilty to possessing a firearm as a convicted felon. At sentencing, the district court applied a four-level enhancement for possession of the firearm “in connection with another felony offense”— distribution of methamphetamine. The district court also imposed a period of supervised release and required drug treatment. The district court delegated to the probation officer supervision of the “modality, duration,

* Judge Willett concurs in the judgment only. Case: 20-50343 Document: 00515830247 Page: 2 Date Filed: 04/21/2021

No. 20-50343

intensity, etc.” of that treatment. Because the evidence supported the enhancement and because the district court did not delegate a core judicial function, we AFFIRM. I. Officers, responding to a 911 call about a person with a gun, arrived at a Super 8 Motel in Odessa, Texas. They found the appellant Yurika Huerta alongside Frank Badilla, Amber Velarde, and a fourth individual. Huerta possessed a Bulgaria Arms SAM7K 7.62x39mm automatic pistol loaded with 30 rounds of ammunition, and she appeared to be intoxicated. When officers approached Badilla, he threw a Sig Sauer P238 .380 ACP pistol to the ground. Badilla also possessed 2 ounces of marijuana and $9,658 in cash. Velarde discarded a bag containing 81.6 grams of methamphetamine before she was detained. The fourth individual possessed 5.2 grams of methamphetamine. Badilla told the officers that he and Huerta had come to the motel to meet Alan Oszuel Gonzalez about a vehicle. Badilla said that he and Huerta swapped firearms when they arrived at the motel before they went to Gonzalez’s room. They did not, however, enter Gonzalez’s room. Badilla then admitted to the officers that they were meeting Gonzalez, not about a vehicle, but rather about 15 pounds of methamphetamine that Badilla had purchased but had not received. Though she said nothing about the methamphetamine, Huerta told the officers that she had agreed to go, armed, to the motel with Badilla. Huerta pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). A probation officer prepared a presentence investigation report. The report recommended applying a four- level sentencing enhancement for possession of a firearm in connection with another felony offense—drug trafficking. U.S. Sent’g Guidelines Manual (U.S.S.G.) § 2K2.1(b)(6)(B) (U.S. Sent’g Comm’n 2018); see also 21 U.S.C.

2 Case: 20-50343 Document: 00515830247 Page: 3 Date Filed: 04/21/2021