United States v. Barcenas-Yanez

Defendant appealed his 60-month sentence after pleading guilty to illegal reentry into the United States. The district court concluded that defendant's 1997 aggravated assault conviction under Texas Penal Code 22.02(a) constituted a predicate “crime of violence” under the reentry sentencing guideline, USSG 2L1.2(b)(1)(A). The court concluded that the Texas legislature, in setting out alternative means of satisfying the mens rea element of the Texas statute, did not render the statute divisible such that the state law can be said to have created two offenses, one involving a reckless mens rea, the other involving a knowing or intentional mens rea. The court concluded that the Texas aggravated assault offense created in section 22.02(a) is broader than the federal generic “aggravated assault” offense qualifying under the reentry guideline as supporting an enhanced sentencing range, is not divisible, and therefore cannot support the application of a 16-level enhancement under the reentry guideline. Accordingly, the court vacated the sentence and remanded for resentencing. View "United States v. Barcenas-Yanez" on Justia Law