United States v. Abeu Gonzalez-Perez, A.K.A. Oscar Ortiz-Garcia

On appeal, Abeu Gonzalez-Perez challenges his sentence on the basis that the district court erred in applying a 16-level enhancement to his sentence for a false-imprisonment conviction under Florida law. Specifically, Gonzalez-Perez contends that his prior conviction under Florida’s false imprisonment statute does not constitute a “crime of violence” under § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii) of the Sentencing Guidelines. We agree. Accordingly, we reverse the district court’s imposition of the 16-level enhancement, vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing. We affirm the district court’s other rulings made during the sentencing proceedings.

I.

Gonzalez-Perez pled guilty to illegal reentry following deportation in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 (a). At sentencing, over Gonzalez-Perez’s objection, the district court applied a 16-level erime-of-violence enhancement based on a prior conviction for false imprisonment under Fla. Stat. § 787.02 (l)(a). See U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(l)(A)(ii). “We review de novo a district court’s decision that a prior conviction is a crime of violence under the Sentencing Guidelines.” United States v. Velasquez-Reyes, 427 F.3d 1227, 1229 (9th Cir.2005) (citation…