United States v. Nieves-Diaz

── United States v. Nieves-Diaz ── Court: Court of Appeals for the First Circuit Date: April 14, 2026 Category: General United States Court of Appeals For the First Circuit No. 24-1834 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Appellee, v. HECLOUIS JOEL NIEVES-DÍAZ, Defendant, Appellant. APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO [Hon. Francisco A. Besosa, U.S. District Judge] Before Barron, Chief Judge, Thompson and Aframe, Circuit Judges. Celso Javier Pérez Carballo, Assistant Federal Public Defender, with whom Rachel Brill, Federal Public Defender, and Franco L. Pérez-Redondo, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Supervisor, Appellate Unit, were on brief, for appellant. Maarja T. Luhtaru, Assistant United States Attorney, with whom W. Stephen Muldrow, United States Attorney, and Juan Carlos Reyes-Ramos, Assistant United States Attorney, Chief, Appellate Division, were on brief, for appellee. April 14, 2026  AFRAME, Circuit Judge. During the execution of a search warrant at the apartment where Heclouis Joel Nieves-Díaz was residing, the Puerto Rico police found drugs, ammunition, and a machine gun conversion device, which resulted in his guilty plea to federal drug and firearm charges. Nieves received an eighty-four-month prison sentence, which he successfully appealed. On remand, the district court resentenced Nieves to sixty-six months' imprisonment, which was twenty-five months above the top of the new United States Sentencing Guidelines range ("GSR") applicable to his second sentencing. Nieves appeals again, arguing, among other things, that the district court failed to adequately explain the basis for the upward variance. We agree and therefore vacate the sentence. I. In 2013, Nieves pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute drugs, 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 846, and 860. As part of that conspiracy, Nieves "possessed firearms while he was acting as a seller for the [drug trafficking] organization." He received an eighty-month prison sentence that was later reduced to fifty-seven months. Nieves's sentence also included a term of supervised release that was twice revoked for various violations, including his failure to report to the probation office and his use of controlled substances. Nieves's second revocation sentence ended on May 15, 2020. - 2 -  Five months later, on October 13, 2020, Puerto Rico police officers executed a search warrant at an apartment in San Juan where Nieves was residing. Before executing the warrant, officers observed apparent drug transactions occurring at the apartment. During the search, the officers found, among other items, approximately 149 rounds of .223 caliber ammunition in a Ziploc bag in the kitchen; a machine gun conversion device, also known as a "chip"; and approximately 849 small plastic baggies of cocaine. As a result, Nieves was charged with and pleaded guilty to (1) being a felon in possession of ammunition, 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(a)(2); (2) illegal possession of a part designed to convert a semi-automatic weapon into a machine gun, 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(o) and 924(a)(2); and (3) possession with intent to distribute cocaine, 18 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C). Nieves was on supervised release when he committed these crimes. The presentence investigation report ("PSR") calculated Nieves's total offense level to be twenty-three, his criminal history to be category III, and his resulting GSR