United States v. Abel Lazcano
Opinion
Opinion
MEMORANDUM
I
Defendant Abel Yudico Lazcano contends that he failed to register as a sex offender in an attempt to avoid detection as an illegal alien, and, therefore, his conviction for failing to register should have been considered relevant conduct to his current immigration offense and not part of his criminal history.
We have recently held that conduct which occurred “in the course of attempting to avoid detection or responsibility” for the crime of conviction constitutes relevant conduct under § 1B1.3(a)(1)(A) of the Sentencing Guidelines. United, States v. Rivera-Gomez, 634 F.3d 507, 514-16 (9th Cir. 2011). The district court did not have the benefit of that decision when it sentenced Lazcano. Therefore, we must vacate Lazcano’s sentence and remand so that the district court can make a factual finding as to Lazcano’s motivation for failing to register and re-sentence Lazcano as appropriate. The district court at the time of sentencing made no express finding on the question of whether defendant failed to register “in the course of attempting to avoid detection or responsibility for [his current immigration offense.]” U.S.S.G. § lB1.3(a)(l)(A).