NOT FOR PUBLICATION FILED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FEB 22 2017
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 15-50527
Plaintiff-Appellee, D.C. No. 3:15-cr-01494-LAB
v.
MEMORANDUM*
JUAN LEON-CORDOVA,
Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of California
Larry A. Burns, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted February 14, 2017**
Before: GOODWIN, FARRIS, and FERNANDEZ, Circuit Judges.
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.
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
**
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).
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.
2 15-50527