Case: 13-10498 Date Filed: 09/05/2013 Page: 1 of 2
[DO NOT PUBLISH]
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
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No. 13-10498
Non-Argument Calendar
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D.C. Docket No. 9:12-cr-80113-KAM-1
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
AARON JOHNSON,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Florida
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(September 5, 2013)
Before TJOFLAT, PRYOR and MARTIN, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:
Case: 13-10498 Date Filed: 09/05/2013 Page: 2 of 2
Aaron Johnson appeals his 180-month sentence after pleading guilty to one
count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, in violation of
18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924(e)(1). Johnson’s sentence was the mandatory
minimum under § 924(e)(1), which states that a person who violates § 922(g) and
has three previous convictions for a violent felony or serious drug offense, shall be
imprisoned for not less than fifteen years. 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(1).
Johnson’s only argument on appeal is that his sentence “runs afoul of the
Fifth and Sixth Amendment[s],” because the indictment did not identify the three
prior convictions that supported the application of § 924(e)(1)’s mandatory
minimum. However, as Johnson acknowledges, his argument is foreclosed by
Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224, 118 S. Ct. 1219 (1998). In that
case, the Supreme Court held that prior convictions “relevant only to the
sentencing of an offender found guilty of the charged crime” do not need to be
charged in an indictment or proven beyond a reasonable doubt to a jury. Id. at
228–47, 118 S. Ct. at 1223–33. Almendarez-Torres “remains good law.” United
States v. Weeks, 711 F.3d 1255, 1259 (11th Cir. 2013).
For these reasons, Johnson’s sentence is AFFIRMED.
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