Rodriguez-Samano

MEMORANDUM **

Defendant Armando Rodriguez-Samano appeals his sentence, contending that the district court erred in increasing his offense level by eight levels based on its conclusion that defendant’s Arizona conviction for second degree escape constituted a crime of violence, and therefore an aggravated felony, for purposes of the guidelines.

The relevant guideline is U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(l)(C), not U.S.S.G. § 4B1.2. For purposes of § 2L1.2(b)(l)(C), an “aggravated felony” is defined in 8 U.S.C. § 1101 (a)(43). See U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2, cmt. n. 3(A). That definition includes a “crime of violence,” in turn defined by 18 U.S.C. § 16 (b) to include “any ... offense that is a felony and that, by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense.”

Under our categorical approach, we consider the statutory definition of the prior offense of which the defendant was convicted. We must consider whether the “full range of conduct encompassed by the [state] statute” constitutes a crime of violence and, therefore, an aggravated felony. United States v. Rivera-Sanchez, 247 F.3d 905, 909 (9th…