Barragan
United States v. Barragan
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM **
Pursuant to a plea agreement, Ricardo Barragan pled guilty to possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841 . As part of the factual basis for his plea agreement, Barragan stipulated that at the time of his arrest he possessed approximately 53.3 grams of methamphetamine, which he intended to distribute.
Although this offense subjected Barragan to a statutorily mandated minimum sentence of ten years in prison absent *26 some form of sentencing relief under another statutory provision, see 21 U.S.C. § 841 (b)(l)(A)(viii), the district court imposed a sentence of 97 months’ imprisonment. Because the Government did not move for a departure below the statutory minimum pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 3553 (e), and Barragan did not satisfy the criteria of 18 U.S.C. § 3553 (f), 1 the district court erred in imposing a sentence less than the mandatory ten-year minimum sentence. See Melendez v. United States, 518 U.S. 120, 125-30 , 116 S.Ct. 2057 , 135 L.Ed.2d 427 (1996); United States v. Working, 224 F.3d 1093, 1103 (9th Cir.2000) (en banc); United States v. Haynes, 216 F.3d 789, 799-800 (9th Cir.2000).