United States v. Carpena

── United States v. Carpena ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Date: April 21, 2026 Category: General Appellate Case: 25-5046 Document: 50-1 Date Filed: 04/21/2026 Page: 1 FILED United States Court of Appeals PUBLISH Tenth Circuit UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS April 21, 2026 Christopher M. Wolpert FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT Clerk of Court _________________________________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. No. 25-5046 FABIAN COBOS CARPENA, Defendant - Appellant. _________________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma (D.C. No. 4:24-CR-00173-SEH-1) _________________________________ William D. Lunn, Jr., Tulsa, Oklahoma, appearing for Appellant. Elliot Anderson, Assistant United States Attorney (Clinton J. Johnson, United States Attorney, with him on the brief), Office of the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Oklahoma, Tulsa, Oklahoma, appearing for Appellee. _________________________________ Before MATHESON, EBEL, and CARSON, Circuit Judges. _________________________________ MATHESON, Circuit Judge. _________________________________ Fabian Cobos Carpena pled guilty to Unlawful Reentry of a Removed Alien in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326, reserving the right to appeal the district court’s denial  Appellate Case: 25-5046 Document: 50-1 Date Filed: 04/21/2026 Page: 2 of his motion for a jury instruction on a duress defense. Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm. I. BACKGROUND A. Factual History 1 2010 to 2013 - Initial Entry and Deportation Mr. Cobos Carpena was 16-years-old and living in Mexico when Rosanna Miranda Torres, a 29-year-old American citizen, contacted him online. Despite their age difference, according to Mr. Cobos Carpena’s declaration, they “developed a long-distance relationship.” ROA, Vol. I at 46. Ms. Torres convinced Mr. Cobos Carpena to come to the United States. She organized his border crossing. She sent men to transport him across the border, resulting in his illegal entry into the United States, but they did not immediately release him or deliver him to Ms. Torres. Instead, they held him in Texas for approximately three weeks, constantly “threatening” him and “feeding [him] poorly.” Id. They told him to “obey all” of Ms. Torres’s orders or “they would hurt [him]” 1 Mr. Cobos Carpena’s motion for a duress jury instruction included a written factual offer of proof. He supplemented his offer of proof with exhibits, including his own declaration, a protective order application, police reports, and letters from his sister, nephew, and ex-girlfriend. We draw the facts primarily from Mr. Cobos Carpena’s declaration. To determine whether the evidence was sufficient to warrant a duress jury instruction, “we review the evidence in the light most favorable to the defendant,” United States v. Dixon, 901 F.3d 1170, 1178 (10th Cir. 2018), and “we must give full credence to defendant’s testimony,” United States v. Yazzie, 188 F.3d 1178, 1185 (10th Cir. 1999) (quotations omitted). 2  Appellate Case: 25-5046 Document: 50-1 Date Filed: 04/21/2026 Page: 3 and that his “only choices were to be sent to