United States v. Torres-Villalobos ( 2002 )


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  •                       UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
    No. 01-51284
    Summary Calendar
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    Plaintiff-Appellee,
    versus
    JESUS TORRES-VILLALOBOS,
    Defendant-Appellant.
    ________________________________________________________________
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Western District of Texas
    (EP-01-CR-799-ALL-EP)
    _______________________________________________________________
    December 3, 2002
    Before BARKSDALE, DEMOSS, and BENAVIDES, Circuit Judges.
    PER CURIAM:*
    Jesus Torres-Villalobos appeals the sentence imposed following
    his guilty plea to a charge of illegal reentry to the United States
    after deportation.         Torres-Villalobos claims the district court
    erred    in   concluding      that    his   manslaughter    conviction   was   an
    “aggravated felony” and, therefore, imposed a 16-level increase
    pursuant      to   U.S.S.G.    §    2L1.2(b)(1)   (2000).      In   support,   he
    contends:      the elements of the manslaughter offense do not include
    *
    Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined
    that this opinion should not be published and is not precedent
    except under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR.
    R. 47.5.4.
    the use of force against person or property, therefore the offense
    is not a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 16(a); and the offense
    is not a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 16(b), because
    manslaughter does not carry a substantial risk that force will
    intentionally be used.      He relies on United States v. Chapa-Garza,
    
    243 F.3d 921
    (5th Cir. 2001).
    We review the application of the Sentencing Guidelines de
    novo.    E.g., United States v. Rayo-Valdez, 
    302 F.3d 314
    , 315 (5th
    Cir. 2002).     A 16-level increase to the base offense level is
    applied if the defendant was deported after a conviction for an
    “aggravated    felony”.     U.S.S.G.       §   2L1.2(b)(1)(A)    (2000).   An
    “aggravated felony” is a “crime of violence” as defined in 18
    U.S.C. § 16 (except for a purely political offense), for which the
    term    of   imprisonment    is   at       least   one   year.      8   U.S.C.
    § 1101(a)(43)(F).   A “crime of violence” is “an offense that has as
    an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical
    force against the person or property of another” or “any other
    offense that is a felony and 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.
    In determining whether a conviction is a crime of violence, we
    do not consider the particular facts of the prior offense.              Chapa-
    
    Garza, 243 F.3d at 924
    .       Torres-Villalobos was convicted on his
    guilty plea to a charge of second degree manslaughter in Minnesota.
    2
    The underlying state statute provides, in pertinent part, that
    a person is guilty of second degree manslaughter if he causes the
    death of another by his “culpable negligence whereby [he] creates
    an unreasonable risk, and consciously takes chances of causing
    death   or    great   bodily     harm   to   another”.       MINN.    STAT.    ANN.
    § 609.205(1) (West 2000).
    The manslaughter offense to which Torres-Villalobos admitted
    is a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 16(b) because it is an
    offense      “in   which   the   defendant     is   likely    to     use      force
    intentionally against another person”. United States v. Trejo-
    Galvan, 
    2002 WL 1980403
    (5th Cir. 2002).
    AFFIRMED
    3
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 01-51284

Filed Date: 12/5/2002

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 4/18/2021