Cotharn

MEMORANDUM **

Raymond Eugene Cotharn appeals the 216-month sentence imposed following his guilty plea conviction for one count of distribution of cocaine base in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a)(1). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We review de novo the district court’s determination that a defendant is a career offender pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1. United States v. Riley, 183 F.3d 1155, 1157 (9th Cir.1999). We affirm in part, and remand in part.

The district court properly determined that Cotharn is a career offender under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1 because he has at least two prior felony convictions for controlled substance offenses. See United States v. Sandoval-Venegas, 292 F.3d 1101, 1106 (9th Cir.2002). The district court properly looked to the language of the statute to determine whether Cotharn’s conviction of “criminal endangerment” under Montana Code Annotated § 45-5-207 involved a “serious risk of physical injury” and was, therefore, a crime of violence under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1. See United States v. Bailey, 139 F.3d 667, 667-68 (9th Cir.1998) (holding that similar Arizona statute constituted a crime of violence).

Because Section 4B1.1 provides that a career…