United States v. Fuentes-Rodriguez, No. 15-40740 (5th Cir. 2019)

Annotate this Case

The Fifth Circuit affirmed defendant's sentence imposed after he pleaded guilty to illegal reentry into the United States following deportation and having been previously convicted of an aggravated felony. The court held that defendant's prior conviction under Texas Penal Code 22.01(a)(1) and (b)(2) qualified as a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C.16, and his arguments to the contrary were foreclosed by United States v. Gracia-Cantu, 920 F.3d 252, 254 (5th Cir. 2019), petition for cert. filed (June 25, 2019) (18-1593).

The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on January 7, 2022.
The court issued a subsequent related opinion or order on February 3, 2022.

Download PDF

Case: 15-40740 Document: 00515092397 Page: 1 Date Filed: 08/26/2019 IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit No. 15-40740 Summary Calendar FILED August 26, 2019 Lyle W. Cayce Clerk UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,, Plaintiff-Appellant v. JAVIER FUENTES-RODRIGUEZ, Defendant-Appellee Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas Before CLEMENT, ELROD, and OLDHAM, Circuit Judges. PER CURIAM: Javier Fuentes-Rodriguez appeals his sentence imposed following his guilty plea conviction for illegal reentry into the United States following deportation and having been previously convicted of an aggravated felony. He argues that his prior conviction under Texas Penal Code § 22.01(a)(1) and (b)(2) does not qualify as a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 16 and therefore is not an aggravated felony for purposes of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(b)(2) and U.S.S.G. § 2L1.2(b)(1)(C). Fuentes-Rodriguez’s argument is foreclosed by United States v. GraciaCantu, 920 F.3d 252, 254 (5th Cir. 2019), petition for cert. filed (June 25, 2019) (18-1593). Gracia-Cantu held that a prior conviction for Assault-Family Case: 15-40740 Document: 00515092397 Page: 2 Date Filed: 08/26/2019 No. 15-40740 Violence under Texas Penal Code § 22.01(a)(1) and (b)(2) fell within 18 U.S.C. § 16(a), thereby qualifying as a crime of violence and an aggravated felony for purposes of § 1326(b)(2) and § 2L1.2(b)(1)(C). 920 F.3d at 254. Gracia-Cantu relied on this court’s en banc decision in United States v. Reyes-Contreras, 910 F.3d 169, 183 (5th Cir. 2018 (en banc) (rejecting a “directness of force” requirement for a crime of violence). The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED. 2

Primary Holding

Defendant's prior conviction under Texas Penal Code 22.01(a)(1) and (b)(2) qualified as a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C.16.

Disclaimer: Justia Annotations is a forum for attorneys to summarize, comment on, and analyze case law published on our site. Justia makes no guarantees or warranties that the annotations are accurate or reflect the current state of law, and no annotation is intended to be, nor should it be construed as, legal advice. Contacting Justia or any attorney through this site, via web form, email, or otherwise, does not create an attorney-client relationship.

Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.