United States v. Marquinn Jones-Nelson

MEMORANDUM

Defendant-Appellant Jones-Nelson appeals his sentence following his plea of guilty to a two-count indictment for distribution of crack cocaine. He argues that the advisory Guidelines sentence should not have been enhanced for possession of a weapon, and that it should have been further reduced for acceptance of responsibility. He also appeals the district court’s refusal to strike references in the presen-tence investigation report (“PSR”) to his possible affiliation with gangs. Because the facts and procedural history are familiar to the parties, we do not recite them here, except as necessary to explain our disposition. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We review the district court’s findings of fact at the sentencing hearing for clear error. United States v. Rivera, 527 F.3d 891, 908 (9th Cir.2008). We review de novo the district court’s understanding of the Sentencing Guidelines, id., as well as its compliance with Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32. United States v. Thomas, 355 F.3d 1191, 1194 (9th Cir.2004). We affirm.

1. Jones-Nelson first argues that the district court should not have applied a two-level enhancement for possession of a firearm…