United States v. Reyes-Espinosa

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined
that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent
except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.
R. 47.5.4.
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 01-50249
Conference Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
FRANCISCO REYES-ESPINOSA, also known as
Francisco Espinoza, also known as Reyes Espinoza,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
USDC No. SA-00-CR-467-ALL
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October 29, 2001
Before WIENER, BENAVIDES, and DENNIS, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Francisco Reyes-Espinosa appeals his sentence from his
guilty-plea conviction for being found illegally in the United
States. See 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a), (b). He argues that the
district court erred in applying a 16-level “aggravated felony”
increase, pursuant to U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A), because the rule
of lenity requires the court to interpret the term “drug
trafficking crime” to exclude his state conviction for possession
of less than one gram of cocaine. Reyes-Espinosa acknowledges

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No. 01-50249
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that his argument is foreclosed by this court’s decision in
United States v. Hinojosa-Lopez, 130 F.3d 691, 693-94 (5th Cir.
1997). He seeks to preserve the issue for possible review by the
Supreme Court.
The district court did not err in applying U.S.S.G.
§ 2L1.2(b)(1)(A). Hinojosa-Lopez, 130 F.3d at 693-94; see United
States v. Hernadez-Avalos, 251 F.3d 505, 508-09 (5th Cir. 2001),
cert. denied, (U.S. Oct. 1, 2001) (No. 01-5773).
AFFIRMED.

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