United States of America v. Juan Cardona-Elias, a.k.a. Jose Cardenas Ilies, a.k.a. Juan Jose Cardona- Elias

NOT FOR PUBLICATION
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
JUAN CARDONA-ELIAS, a.k.a. Jose
Cardenas Ilies, a.k.a. Juan Jose Cardona-
Elias,
Defendant - Appellant.
No. 15-10215
D.C. No. 2:15-cr-00067-SPL
MEMORANDUM*
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of Arizona
Steven P. Logan, District Judge, Presiding
Submitted March 15, 2016**
Before: GOODWIN, LEAVY, and CHRISTEN, Circuit Judges.
Juan Cardona-Elias appeals from the district court’s judgment and
challenges the 27-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for
FILED
MAR 21 2016
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
* This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision
without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).

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reentry of a removed alien, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. We have jurisdiction
under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we vacate and remand for resentencing.
Cardona-Elias contends that the district court procedurally erred by basing
the sentence on a mischaracterization of his criminal history. Because the record
reflects that the district court may have based the sentence on the mistaken belief
that Cardona-Elias had two prior convictions for illegal reentry, rather than one
conviction for illegal reentry and one for illegal entry, we vacate and remand for
resentencing. See United States v. Carty, 520 F.3d 984, 993 (9th Cir. 2008) (en
banc) (selection of sentence based on clearly erroneous facts constitutes procedural
error).
In light of this disposition, we need not reach Cardona-Elias’s remaining
claim of sentencing error.
VACATED and REMANDED.
15-10215 2

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