Hernandez

Pedro Hernandez pleaded guilty to one count of illegal reentry in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 . He now appeals both his conviction and sentence. He asserts that the district court erred in denying his pretrial request that he be allowed to represent himself, and that this denial of his Sixth Amendment right rendered his subsequent guilty plea involuntary. Hernandez argues separately that the district court violated his Sixth Amendment rights by not permitting him to represent himself at his sentencing hearing. We agree that Hernandez’s plea was involuntary and vacate his conviction. Accordingly, we need not reach the separate sentencing issue.

I. BACKGROUND

Hernandez was deported from the United States on June 26, 1992, and May 11, 1994, after being convicted of various drug-related felonies and assault with a deadly weapon. On May 10, 1997, Hernandez was found in Los Angeles County and taken into custody. He was later charged in a two-count indictment with (1) illegal reentry as an alien into the United States following deportation and felony conviction, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 (a), (b)(1); and (2) illegal reentry as an alien into the United States following…