United States v. Anibal Jose Diaz-Argueta

Aníbal Jose Diaz-Argueta (Diaz) appeals the sentence he received from the district court after pleading guilty to illegally reentering the United States following deportation in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 . We vacate the sentence of the district court and remand for resentencing in accordance with 18 U.S.C. § 3553 (a).

PROCEDURE

Diaz was indicted for having been an alien found in the United States on June 29, 2004 after having been deported on March 13, 1996. He pleaded guilty on September 7, 2004. The Pre-Sentence Report reported that he had been convicted in California in 1995 for assault with a firearm. In support, the government submitted several documents from the Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Bernardino. After three sentencing hearings, the district court concluded from the state court records that Diaz had pled guilty to assault with a firearm, a felony, and that he had been convicted of that offense. The district court sentenced him at the lower end of the Guidelines to three years and ten months’ imprisonment.

Diaz appeals his sentence.

ANALYSIS ■

[1] The State Crime. Diaz points to the apparent mildness of his state sentence — 109 days…