Opinion
No. 06-40870 Summary Calendar.
October 26, 2007.
James Lee Turner, Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney's Office Southern District of Texas, Houston, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Marjorie A. Meyers, Federal Public Defender, Federal Public Defender's Office Southern District of Texas, Houston, TX, for Defendant-Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas, USDC No. 7:05-CR-902-ALL.
Before KING, DAVIS, and CLEMENT, Circuit Judges.
Nicolas Avitu-Ramos pleaded guilty, pursuant to a written agreement, to being illegally present in the United States following a prior deportation and was sentenced to 57 months in prison and two years of supervised release. On appeal, Avitu-Ramos argues that the 16-level crime-of-violence increase under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii) was erroneous, because his Texas convictions of aggravated assault did not qualify as crimes of violence under either definition applicable to that provision. In United States v. Guillen-Alvarez, 489 F.3d 197, 199-201 (5th Cir. 2007), this court held that aggravated assault under TEX. PENAL CODE § 22.02(a) qualified as a conviction for an enumerated offense of aggravated assault and a crime of violence under § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii). The 16-level crime-of-violence increase under § 2L1.2(b)(1)(A)(ii) was not imposed in error.
In light of Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000), Avitu-Ramos challenges the constitutionality of § 1326(b)'s treatment of prior felony and aggravated felony convictions as sentencing factors rather than elements of the offense that must be found by a jury. This court has held that this issue is "fully foreclosed from further debate." United States v. Pineda-Arrellano, 492 F.3d 624, 625 (5th Cir. 2007), petition for cert. filed (Aug. 28, 2007) (No. 07-6202).
AFFIRMED.