United States v. Mark Laurico-Yeno

BACKGROUND

On May 21, 2008, Laurico was charged with being a deported alien found in the United States, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. He pleaded guilty as charged without the ben- efit of a plea agreement.

The probation officer filed a presentence report, which indicated the maximum term of imprisonment was 20 years and recommended a sentence of 70 months. The presentence report determined Laurico’s base offense level as 8 and con- cluded that a sixteen-level sentencing enhancement was appropriate pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii) because of a 2004 conviction for domestic violence in violation of § 273.5.

Laurico objected to the sixteen-point enhancement on the grounds that the § 273.5 conviction was not a felony, and, even if it was, the statute is not a categorical “crime of vio- lence.” The sentencing judge noted our decision in United States v. Solorio-Nunez, 287 Fed. App’x 13 (9th Cir. 2008) (unpublished), which upheld an offense-level increase for a § 273.5 conviction as a crime of violence. Based on that deci- sion, the sentencing judge concluded Laurico’s conviction was a felony and a “crime of violence.” UNITED STATES v. LAURICO-YENO 55…