UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. JUAN LEON CORDOVA (2017)

MEMORANDUM*

Juan Leon-Cordova appeals from the district court's judgment and challenges the 60-month sentence following his jury-trial conviction for being a removed alien found in the United States, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.

Leon-Cordova contends that the district court erred by enhancing his sentence under section § 1326(b). Specifically, he argues that Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224 (1998), which permits an enhancement based on the existence of a prior felony, is invalid under Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 490 (2000). As Leon-Cordova acknowledges, this argument is foreclosed. See United States v. Pacheco-Zepeda, 234 F.3d 411, 414 (9th Cir. 2000) (Apprendi “unmistakably carved out an exception for ‘prior convictions' that specifically preserved the holding of Almendarez-Torres”); see also Alleyne v. United States, 133 S. Ct. 2151, 2160 n.1 (2013) (declining to revisit Almendarez-Torres).

AFFIRMED.