United States v. Eliodoro Valensia

Eliodoro Valensia appeals from the sentence of imprisonment for 262 months imposed by the district court following his guilty plea to the crime of conspiracy to manufacture and possess methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 846 and 841(a)(1). We filed our original opinion in this matter on August 1, 2000. United States v. Valensia, 222 F.3d 1173 (9th Cir.2000). The United States Supreme Court granted Valensia’s petition for certiorari on March 5, 2001. On that date, the Court vacated our judgment and remanded this matter for further consideration in light of Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 , 120 S.Ct. 2348 , 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000). Valensia v. United States, 532 U.S. 901 , 121 S.Ct. 1222 , 149 L.Ed.2d 133 (2001).

Valensia contends that the district court deprived him of his i-ights under the Fifth Amendment to a valid indictment and his Sixth Amendment right to be informed of the nature of the accusation against him by sentencing him in excess of the statutory maximum for a violation of § 841(a). He argues that his sentence must be vacated because the quantity and purity of the methamphetamine were neither alleged in the indictment nor…