United States v. Flores-Granados

Defendant, a native and citizen of Honduras, was convicted under North Carolina law of two counts of second-degree kidnapping. Defendant was subsequently removed from the United States to Honduras. Defendant reentered the United States illegally at some point when he was arrested for possession of a controlled substance and assault and battery in Virginia. Defendant subsequently pleaded guilty to a single-count indictment for illegal reentry into the United States. The district court concluded that a sixteen-level enhancement should be applied to Defendant’s sentence for reentry after a prior conviction for a “crime of violence.” Defendant appealed, arguing that his North Carolina crime did not constitute a crime of violence. The Fourth Circuit affirmed, holding that, under North Carolina law, a conviction for second-degree kidnapping does constitute a crime of violence, and as such, the addition of a sixteen-level enhancement to Defendant’s sentence was proper. View "United States v. Flores-Granados" on Justia Law