United States v. Alvarado-Pineda, No. 13-50528 (9th Cir. 2014)
Annotate this CaseDefendant was convicted of second degree robbery under Washington law, RCW 9A.56.190, for stealing a wallet and sentenced to prison for at least one year. Subsequently, defendant illegally reentered the United States three times. On the final and third time, he was indicted on one count of illegal reentry and defendant moved to dismiss the indictment on the ground that his prior removal orders had been entered in violation of his Fifth Amendment due process rights. The district court denied the motion and defendant was convicted of illegal reentry. The court concluded that a conviction for Washington second degree robbery, where accompanied by a sentence of at least one year, qualifies as an aggravated felony under 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(43)(G). Because defendant was sentenced to a 14-month prison term, he was convicted of an aggravated felony. Because he is ineligible for relief, he suffered no prejudice from any procedural defects that may have occurred and the district court correctly denied his motion to dismiss his indictment.
Court Description: Criminal Law. Affirming a conviction for illegal reentry, the panel held that a conviction of second-degree robbery under section 9A.56.190 of the Revised Code of Washington is a “theft offense,” and that such a conviction, accompanied by a sentence of imprisonment of at least one year, therefore qualifies as an “aggravated felony” under 8 U.S.C. § 1101(a)(43)(G). The panel concluded that because the defendant’s aggravated felony conviction renders him ineligible for relief from his underlying removal orders, he suffered no prejudice from any procedural defects that may have occurred in the removal proceedings, and the district court therefore correctly denied his motion to dismiss the indictment based on those alleged defects.
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