United States v. Melesio Carrillo-Lopez, Aka, Jose Lopez-Chavez
Opinion
Opinion
Melesio Carrillo-Lopez is a 36-year-old native and citizen of Mexico. He appeals the 70-month sentence imposed fobowing his guilty plea to illegal re-entry, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 . Mr. Carrillo-Lopez argues that the district court improperly enhanced his sentence based on the existence of a prior aggravated felony. We review de novo the question of whether the aggravated felony provisions of the Sentencing Guidelines apply to a conviction. United States v. Yanez-Saucedo, 295 F.3d 991, 993 (9th Cir.2002).
In June 1995, Mr. Carrillo-Lopez was convicted in Los Angeles County of felony spousal abuse and sentenced to a suspended sentence of 365 days in jail and three years probation. He was then formally removed by order of the Immigration and Naturalization Service in December 1995 and again in April 1996.
By August 1998, Mr. Carrillo-Lopez had returned to the United States. He was arrested for possession of cocaine. Two months later, his probation was revoked, and he was sentenced to two years imprisonment for the 1995 spousal abuse conviction, as well as to two years in prison for the drug charge. In October 1999, Mr. Carrillo-Lopez was removed again based on a…