United States v. Jonas Coronado-Cura

713 F.3d 597, 2013 WL 1197784, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 6079
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
DecidedMarch 26, 2013
Docket12-12344
StatusPublished

This text of 713 F.3d 597 (United States v. Jonas Coronado-Cura) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Jonas Coronado-Cura, 713 F.3d 597, 2013 WL 1197784, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 6079 (11th Cir. 2013).

Opinion

CARNES, Circuit Judge:

This is the latest in a seemingly endless stream of cases raising “aggravated felony” and “violent felony” issues. The particular issue presented is whether the crime of simple vehicle flight as defined in Fla. Stat. § 316.1935(2) is an “aggravated felony” under § 2L1.2(b)(l)(C) of the sentencing guidelines. Earlier this year we held that the crime is a “violent felony” under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA). United States v. Petite, 703 F.3d 1290, 1291 (11th Cir.2013). But is it also an “aggravated felony” under § 2L1.2(b)(l)(C) of the sentencing guidelines? Yes, it is.

*598 I.

Jonas Coronado-Cura pleaded guilty to illegally reentering the United States after having been removed to Mexico, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326. The presentence investigation report assigned a base offense level of 8. See United States Sentencing Guidelines § 2L1.2(a) (Nov. 2011). The PSR also indicated that Coronado-Cura had a felony conviction in Florida for fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer (also called simple vehicle flight), in violation of Fla. Stat. § 316.1935(2). The sentencing guidelines provide for enhancements when a defendant convicted of unlawfully entering or remaining in the United States has a prior felony conviction. See U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b). The amount of the enhancement depends on the type of felony. Id. The PSR concluded that because of his Florida conviction, Coronado-Cura should receive a 4-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(l)(D), which applies to felony offenses not covered by § 2L1.2(b)(l)(A)-(C). The PSR also gave Coronado-Cura a 2-level reduction for acceptance of responsibility, resulting in a total offense level of 10. That offense level combined with Coronado-Cura’s criminal history category of IV resulted in a guidelines range of 15 to 21 months imprisonment.

The government objected to the PSR, arguing that Coronado-Cura should have received an 8-level enhancement under § 2L1.2(b) because his Florida conviction for simple vehicle flight qualifies as an “aggravated felony” under § 2L1.2(b)(l)(C). At sentencing, the district court sustained the government’s objection, finding that as defined in Fla. Stat. § 316.1935(2) the crime of simple vehicle flight necessarily involves a “substantial risk of violent force” and therefore is an aggravated felony. The court adopted the PSR to the extent that it assigned a base offense level of 8. To that base the court added 8 levels for the prior conviction. It subtracted 4 levels for participation in the fast track program and another 3 levels for acceptance of responsibility. The result (8 + 8-4-3) was an offense level of 9, which combined with his criminal history category of IV to give Coronado-Cura a guidelines range of 12 to 18 months imprisonment. The court sentenced him to 18 months imprisonment. This is his appeal.

II.

Coronado-Cura’s sole contention is that he should not have gotten an 8-level enhancement under U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(l)(C) because his Florida conviction for simple vehicle flight is not an aggravated felony. The crime of simple vehicle flight is defined in Fla. Stat. § 316.1935(2), which provides:

Any person who willfully flees or attempts to elude a law enforcement officer in an authorized law enforcement patrol vehicle, with agency insignia and other jurisdictional markings prominently displayed on the vehicle, with siren and lights activated commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, 775.083, or s. 775.084.

Fla. Stat. § 316.1935(2). The elements of the crime are: “(1) an officer in a law enforcement patrol vehicle, with its jurisdictional markings prominently displayed and its siren and lights activated, orders the motorist to stop; and (2) the motorist willfully flees or attempts to elude the officer.” Petite, 703 F.3d at 1292.

For § 2L1.2(b)(l)(C) enhancement purposes, “aggravated felony” has the meaning given to the term in section 101(a)(43) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43). U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2 cmt. n. 3(A). Section 101(a)(43), in turn, includes in its definition of aggra *599 vated felony “crime of violence,” as defined in 18 U.S.C. § 16. 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(F). And “crime of violence” in § 16 is defined to include any felony “that, by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force against the person or property of another may be used in the course of committing the offense.” 18 U.S.C. § 16(b). By that circuitous route a § 2L1.2(b)(l)(C) “aggravated felony” is one that, by its nature, involves a substantial risk that physical force will be used against the person or property of another during the crime.

We held in Petite that a conviction for simple vehicle flight under Fla. Stat. § 316.1935(2) falls within the definition of “violent felony” under the ACCA. That definition includes, among other things, any felony that “is burglary, arson, or extortion, involves use of explosives, or otherwise involves conduct that presents a serious potential risk of physical injury to another.” 18 U.S.C. § 924(e)(2)(B)(ii) (emphasis added). We recognized in Petite that the Supreme Court’s decision in Sykes v. United States, — U.S. -, 131 S.Ct. 2267, 180 L.Ed.2d 60 (2011), had abrogated our earlier decision in United States v. Harrison, 558 F.3d 1280 (11th Cir.2009), which had held that simple vehicle flight was not a violent felony under the ACCA. See Petite, 703 F.3d at 1297-99. We reasoned that “[t]he Supreme Court [in Sykes] could not have been clearer in concluding that vehicle flight from a law enforcement officer is an extraordinarily risky enterprise” because it ordinarily results in a “dangerous confrontation between the offender and the law enforcement officer.” Id. at 1296-97. We said of the Sykes decision:

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Related

Allen v. Thomas
161 F.3d 667 (Eleventh Circuit, 1998)
United States v. Harrison
558 F.3d 1280 (Eleventh Circuit, 2009)
United States v. Michael Petite
703 F.3d 1290 (Eleventh Circuit, 2013)
Sykes v. United States
180 L. Ed. 2d 60 (Supreme Court, 2011)

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Bluebook (online)
713 F.3d 597, 2013 WL 1197784, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 6079, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-jonas-coronado-cura-ca11-2013.