Kelly

FOR PUBLICATION

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,  No. 04-30074 Plaintiff-Appellant, v.  D.C. No.

CR-03-00066-WFN

NOBEL J. KELLY,

OPINION

Defendant-Appellee.  Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Washington Wm. Fremming Nielsen, Senior Judge, Presiding

Argued and Submitted November 3, 2004—Seattle, Washington

Filed September 6, 2005

Before: Arthur L. Alarcón, William A. Fletcher, and Johnnie B. Rawlinson, Circuit Judges.

Opinion by Judge William A. Fletcher

12117 12120 UNITED STATES v. KELLY

COUNSEL

Thomas O. Rice, Office of the United States Attorney, Spo- kane, Washington, for the plaintiff-appellant.

Kimberly Deate, Federal Defenders of Eastern Washington and Idaho, Spokane, Washington, for the defendant-appellee.

OPINION

W. FLETCHER, Circuit Judge:

The government appeals Nobel Kelly’s 120-month sen- tence for possession with intent to distribute over 5 grams of cocaine base. The government contends that the district court erred in finding that Kelly’s 1998 Washington state convic- tion for attempting to elude a police…