Perez

MEMORANDUM **

Joseph Eclavea Perez appeals the 150-month sentence imposed after the district court granted Perez’s 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion to correct the sentence imposed for his 1994 conviction for distribution of heroin, 21 U.S.C. § 841 (a), and being a felon in possession of a firearm, 18 U.S.C. § 922 (g). We have jurisdiction pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3742 and 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . We vacate and remand.

Perez contends that the district court abused its discretion by departing upward three levels from criminal history category III to category VI without adequately explaining the extent of its departure. We agree.

In explaining the extent of its departure, the district court stated merely that criminal history categories IV and V underrepresented Perez’s past criminal conduct and that he was “more equivalent to someone that would be considered a career criminal with a criminal history category VI.” Generally, a district court should determine whether a defendant’s actual criminal history most closely resembles the next higher criminal history category before concluding that the defendant’s record is so severe that comparison to an even higher category is warranted. United States…