United States v. Bartolo Rodriguez-Fuentes

MEMORANDUM

Appellant Bartolo Rodriguez-Fuentes appeals the district court’s imposition of a 60-month sentence for illegal reentry following deportation in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326 , as enhanced by 8 U.S.C. § 1326 (b)(2).

The district court did not err in applying a 16-level enhancement pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(l)(A) based upon Rodriguez-Fuentes’ prior state conviction as evidenced by the Information and Abstract of Judgment. See United States v. Valle-Montalbo, 474 F.3d 1197, 1201-02 (9th Cir.2007) (“A trial court may rely upon the abstract of -judgment and charging document to conclude there is clear and convincing evidence that the defendant had a qualifying conviction under U.S.S.G. § 2L 1.2(b)(1)(A) ....”) (citation omitted); see also United States v. Leal-Vega, No. 11-50065, 680 F.3d 1160 , 2012 WL 1940217, at *7 (9th Cir. May 30, 2012) (same).

As Rodriguez-Fuentes conceded at oral argument, the district court did not err in its application of § 4A1.2(a)(2), because “[pjrior sentences always are counted separately if the sentences were imposed for offenses that were separated by an intervening arrest (i.e., the defendant is arrested for the first offense prior…