Kent

Jay Kent’s appeal of his conviction and sentence for drug distribution offenses requires us to decide two questions: First, once a defendant has stated before the district court his or her intention to enter a guilty plea, is it an abuse of that court’s discretion to accept a prosecutor’s filing of enhanced charges against the defendant? Second, does a prosecutor act with impermissible vindictiveness when he or she makes good on a plea bargaining threat to enhance charges against a defendant, despite the defendant’s willingness to plead guilty unconditionally? Answering both questions in the negative, we affirm Kent’s conviction and sentence.

I

Kent delivered 22.7 grams of crack cocaine to an FBI source on July 16, 2008, in San Francisco. He was arrested and charged by indictment for conspiring to possess with intent to distribute five grams or more of crack cocaine and possessing with intent to distribute five grams or more of crack cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A)(iii), and 841(b)(1)(B)(iii). The Government did not initially file an information pursuant to 21 U.S.C. § 851 alleging Kent’s prior felony convictions, which filing would have…