United States v. Julio Hernandez

Julio Cesar Arriaga-Hernandez (“Hernandez”) appeals the 33-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for illegal reentry under 8 U.S.C. § 1326 (a) (2012). The sentencing judge enhanced Hernandez’s sentence under 8 U.S.C. § 1326 (b)(2) after finding that Hernandez’s prior California conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm qualified as an aggravated felony. We have jurisdiction over the district court’s final judgment under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 (2012). The district court did not have the benefit of our recent decision in United States v. Aguilera-Rios, 769 F.3d 626 , No. 12-50597, 2014 WL 4800292 (9th Cir. Sept. 29, 2014). There we held, in the immigration context, that California’s felon in possession of a firearm statute is not a categorical match for the federal firearms offense. Id. at 636-37 , 2014 WL 4800292 at *9 . We now hold that the same analysis applies in the sentencing context. As a result, we reverse Hernandez’s sentence and remand the case for re-sentencing.

Hernandez came to the United States as an illegal alien in 1982, when he was two months old. He has lived in California for most of his life, and he lived there with his…