United States v. David Benitez-Perez

David Benitez-Perez appeals the district court’s enhancement of his offense level by 16 levels pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(l)(A)(i) based on his prior conviction for violating Nevada Revised Statute § 453.337. We review the district court’s decision that a prior conviction is a qualifying offense de novo, United States v. Hernandez-Valdovinos, 352 F.3d 1243, 1246 (9th Cir.2003), and we affirm.

I

In the summer of 2002, local authorities in Reno, Nevada were dispatched to a motel on a domestic battery complaint. When officers arrived, Benitez-Perez, a citizen of Mexico, had already driven away from the scene. Upon his return, however, officers discovered that he had over a .12% blood alcohol content and 26.82 grams of methamphetamine in his vehicle. Benitez-Perez was convicted subsequently on November 6, 2002 of driving under the influence and Trafficking a Controlled Substance.

Wfliile Benitez-Perez was in state custody, immigration officials discovered that he was in the United States illegally, having been deported approximately ten years earlier for a previous drug offense. Consequently, Benitez-Perez was indicted by a grand jury for willfully being in the United States…