Sanchez

MEMORANDUM *

Joe Sanchez appeals the denial of his habeas corpus petition, which challenged his status as an aggravated felon removable pursuant to 8 U.S.C. § 1227 (a)(2)(A)(iii). The district court adopted the magistrate judge’s report and recommendation that Sanchez’s conviction for the receipt of stolen property pursuant to Cal.Pen.al Code § 496(a) (1996) constituted a “theft offense” aggravated felony within the meaning of 8 U.S.C. § 101 (a)(43)(G). We review de novo the district court’s denial of Sanchez’s habeas corpus petition and affirm. Nunes v. Ashcroft, 2004 WL 1516778 (9th Cir.2004).

*57 Sanchez was ineligible for § 212(c) relief pursuant to INS v. St. Cyr, 533 U.S. 289 , 121 S.Ct. 2271 , 150 L.Ed.2d 347 (2001). As in United States v. Velasco-Medina, 305 F.3d 839 (9th Cir.2002), Sanchez pled guilty after § 440(d) of the Anti-terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act (“AEDPA”) foreclosed § 212(c) relief for lawful permanent residents convicted of aggravated felonies, and before the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act (“IIRIRA”) expanded the definition of aggravated felony. Sanchez “would have realized that if his conviction were recharacterized…