United States v. Bustillos-Perea

── United States v. Bustillos-Perea ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Date: May 29, 2026 Category: General Appellate Case: 25-2077 Document: 48 Date Filed: 05/29/2026 Page: 1 FILED United States Court of Appeals UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS Tenth Circuit FOR THE TENTH CIRCUIT May 29, 2026 _________________________________ Christopher M. Wolpert Clerk of Court UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. Nos. 25-2077 & 25-2078 (D.C. Nos. 2:23-CR-00979-KG-1 & GONZALO BUSTILLOS-PEREA, 2:24-CR-00946-KG-1) (D. N.M.) Defendant - Appellant. _________________________________ ORDER AND JUDGMENT * _________________________________ Before MATHESON, MORITZ, and FEDERICO, Circuit Judges. _________________________________ These appeals have been partially consolidated for procedural purposes. In the case underlying No. 25-2078, a jury found Gonzalo Bustillos-Perea guilty of one count of unlawful reentry of a removed alien, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a), (b). In the case underlying No. 25-2077, Bustillos-Perea pleaded guilty to violating the terms of supervised release (based on the unlawful reentry in the other case) that After examining the briefs and appellate record, this panel has determined * unanimously to honor the parties’ request for a decision on the briefs without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(f); 10th Cir. R. 34.1(G). The case is therefore submitted without oral argument. This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata, and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 and 10th Cir. R. 32.1.  Appellate Case: 25-2077 Document: 48 Date Filed: 05/29/2026 Page: 2 were imposed as part of a sentence for a prior conviction of unlawful reentry. Bustillos-Perea appeals, arguing the district court erred when it ruled he could not present a duress defense at trial in the unlawful-reentry case. Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm. I. Background Bustillos-Perea is a Mexican citizen. From 1997 to 2023, he unlawfully entered the United States multiple times and was convicted of unlawful reentry four times. After serving an eight-month sentence on the most recent of those convictions, Bustillos-Perea was released from custody on March 29, 2024, and was removed to Mexico the same day. Less than a month later, on April 20, 2024, Border Patrol agents found him in New Mexico and apprehended him. He was again charged with unlawful reentry of a removed alien. Prior to trial on that charge, Bustillos-Perea filed a notice of intent to present a duress defense, asserting his father had been murdered by a gang in Mexico, and he was forced to return to the United States after the gang “made numerous telephone threats to kill” him for reporting the murder to the local police. R. vol. I at 15. 1 For its part, the government filed a motion in limine seeking to exclude, among other things, any evidence involving the reason Bustillos-Perea reentered the United States, because unlawful reentry is a general-intent crime. Bustillos-Perea opposed the motion but did not file a response to it. The district court granted the motion. 1