USCA1 Opinion

[NOT FOR PUBLICATION]

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT

____________________

No. 95-1860

UNITED STATES,

Appellee,

v.

JOSE BONILLA-ROMERO,

Defendant, Appellant.

____________________

APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO

[Hon. Hector M. Laffitte, U.S. District Judge]

___________________

____________________

Before

Torruella, Chief Judge,

___________
Campbell, Senior Circuit Judge,
____________________
and Boudin, Circuit Judge.
_____________
____________________

Rafael Gonzalez Velez

______________________

and Rafael Gonzalez Velez Law Office

___________________________________

brief for appellant.

Guillermo

Gil, United

States Attorney,

Jose A. Quiles-Espino

______________
Senior Litigation

_____________________
Counsel, Edwin O. Vazquez,
________________

Attorney, and Nelson Perez-Sosa,

_________________

Assistant United Sta

Assistant United States Attorney,

brief for appellee.

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MARCH 27, 1997

____________________

Per Curiam.
___________

Appellant Jose Bonilla-Romero appeals

from

the district court's

his guilty plea

in

possessing

with intent

denial

knowingly,

of

intentionally,

to distribute

his

request

for

responsibility reduction at sentencing.

We conclude

abetting his co-

and

an

consider

plead guilty in

acceptance

of

did not abuse

the motion to withdraw the

of a motion

Bonilla has

not disputed that

a written

plea agreement and

guilty

834 (1st Cir.

standard of review and the

in reviewing the denial

guilty plea).

from the

We affirm.

See United States v. Isom, 85 F.3d 831,

___ _____________
____

1996) (describing our

unlawfully

cocaine and

that the district court

its discretion in denying

plea.

motion to withdraw

to one count of aiding and

defendants

court's

denial of his

factors we

to withdraw a

he agreed

that he

to

pled

guilty under oath at a plea hearing which complied fully with

the requirements of

innocence,

made

clearly belated.

seven

weeks

11.

after his

but

was directly

assertion of

guilty

plea,

contradicted by

of a

different

co-defendant,

court obviously

credited.

See
___

F.3d 263, 268

His

was

The testimony of one co-defendant suggested

possible defense,

testimony

Fed. R. Crim. P.

(8th Cir.

whom the

United States v.
_____________

1996) (the district

the

district

Wicker, 80
______

court did

not

abuse its discretion in denying a motion to withdraw a guilty

plea where the court had assessed the defendant's credibility

negatively);

United States v. Caban,

_____________
_____

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962 F.2d 646, 650 (7th

Cir. 1992) ("Because

the

credibility determinations are left

sound discretion of

that the

Caban's

district court

the trial court,

it seems unlikely

abused its discretion

motion to withdraw his

to

plea which was

by rejecting

based upon a

version of events that the court did not find credible.").

Since

Bonilla

sentencing, the district

protested

his

court did not

innocence

even

at

err in declining

to

grant

him

reduction.

the

requested

acceptance

of

See U.S. Sentencing Guidelines

___

responsibility

Manual,

3E1.1,

comment. (n.3) (1995) (evidence that a defendant has accepted

responsibility may be

defendant

who

acceptance

of

has

outweighed by inconsistent

pled

guilty

responsibility

right"); United States v.

______________

Cir.

1990)

(affirming

responsibility

the

is

not

reduction

Bradley, 917
_______

denial

adjustment where the

of

conduct; a

entitled

"as

F.2d 601,

an

to

an

matter

of

606 (1st

acceptance

defendant had

of

tried to

minimize his participation in the crime "to the bitter end").

The judgment of the district court is affirmed.

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See Loc. R. 27.1.

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