United States v. Mateo Garza

JERRY E. SMITH, Circuit Judge:

Raul Garza pleaded guilty of transporting an unlawful alien. He appeals the enhancement of his sentence according to U.S.S.G. § 2Ll.l(b)(6) (2006) for creating a “substantial risk of death or serious bodily injury to another person.” We vacate and remand for re-sentencing.

I

In late April 2007, Captain L. Valadez, a Jim Wells County Sheriffs Deputy, stopped Garza’s red pickup truck because of an obstructed license plate. Valadez observed a person in the front passenger’s seat and three passengers lying down in the cab of the truck. An immigration inspection…