United States v. John Buckendahl

*The Honorable Paul A. Magnuson, United States District Judge for the District
of Minnesota.
United States Court of Appeals
FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT
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No. 00-3760
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United States of America, *
*
Appellee, * Appeal from the United States
* District Court for the District
v. * of Minnesota.
*
Angel Lomas-Flores, * [UNPUBLISHED]
*
Appellant. *
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Submitted: May 18, 2001
Filed: May 24, 2001
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Before LOKEN, ROSS, and FAGG, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Angel Lomas-Flores pleaded guilty to illegally reentering the United States after
deportation in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a). Generally, the statutory maximum
sentence for this offense is two years. See id. If the alien was deported following a
conviction for an aggravated felony, however, the statutory maximum sentence is
twenty years. See id. § 1326(b)(2). Because Lomas-Flores had been deported after his
conviction for an aggravated felony, the district court* sentenced him to seventy months

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in prison. Relying on Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000), Lomas-Flores
contends his felony conviction must be charged in the indictment because the
conviction increases the statutory maximum penalty from two to twenty years. This
contention is foreclosed by our decision in United States v. Raya-Ramirez, No. 00-
3839, 2001 WL 300563, at *1 (8th Cir. Mar. 29, 2001). In Raya-Ramirez, we held
Apprendi did not overrule Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224, 226
(1998) (§ 1326(b)(2) enhancement properly applied to defendant who pleaded guilty
to violating § 1326(a), even though the indictment did not allege the defendant's earlier
aggravated felony convictions or mention§ 1326(b)(2)). The district court thus properly
applied the enhancement in Lomas-Flores's case, and we affirm his sentence.
A true copy.
Attest:
CLERK, U.S. COURT OF APPEALS, EIGHTH CIRCUIT.

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