UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Carlos MARTINEZ, Defendant-Appellant

OVERVIEW

Carlos Martinez pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base. At the sentencing hearing, the district court found Martinez’s criminal history category to be II, based on his prior conviction for vandalism and his commission of the instant offense while on probation. The district court sentenced Martinez to 120 months in custody, which it found to be the mandatory minimum sentence under the United States Sentencing Guidelines.

Martinez appeals the sentence imposed by the district court, claiming that vandalism is a petty offense which should not have been counted in the computation of his criminal history category. We disagree, and affirm the district court.

FACTS

On August 27, 1993, defendant Carlos Martinez, and his brother Julian Martinez, sold a confidential FBI informant approximately three ounces of “crack” cocaine. The crack sold to the informant was cocaine base with a purity level of 64% and a net weight of 84.7 grams.

On September 21, 1993, Martinez was arrested and subsequently charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine base, possession with intent to distribute cocaine base, and distribution…