United States v. Pineda-Doval, No. 11-10134 (9th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseDefendant appealed the district court's imposition of ten concurrent life sentences for his convictions for ten counts of transportation of illegal aliens resulting in their deaths. Defendant was fleeing from Border Patrol while driving a Chevy Suburban carrying twenty undocumented immigrants. The vehicle evaded a spike strip but the sudden shift in weight caused it to roll over and many passengers were thrown from the vehicle, and ten passengers died. In a prior appeal, the court affirmed defendant's convictions but remanded for resentencing. On remand, the district court imposed the life sentences. Because the district court clearly erred when finding that defendant acted with malice aforethought, the court vacated the life sentences and remanded for a new sentencing proceeding, in which the district court would not apply the U.S.S.G. 2L1(c) cross-reference.
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