Case Name: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert Danny CARMONA-LOPEZ, Defendant-Appellant
Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Jurisdiction: United States
Decision Date: 2016-06-20
Citations: 654 F. App'x 334
Docket Number: No. 14-50226
Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert Danny CARMONA-LOPEZ, Defendant-Appellant.
Judges: Before; BEA, WATFORD, and FRIEDLAND, Circuit Judges.
Reporter: West's Federal Appendix
Volume: 654
Pages: 334–335

Head Matter:
UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Robert Danny CARMONA-LOPEZ, Defendant-Appellant.
No. 14-50226
United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.
Submitted June 14, 2016
FILED June 20, 2016
Janet Cabral, Helen H. Hong, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, Office of the US Attorney, San Diego, CA, for Plaintiff-Appellee.
Carson Porter Baucher, Vincent James Brunkow, Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc., San Diego, CA, for Defendant-Appellant.
Before; BEA, WATFORD, and FRIEDLAND, Circuit Judges.
The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2).

Opinion:
MEMORANDUM
Robert Danny Carmona-Lopez appeals from the district court's judgment and challenges the 70-month sentence imposed following his guilty-plea conviction for possession of heroin and methamphetamine with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm.
Carmona-Lopez contends that because the government did not prove, nor did he admit, that- he knowingly or intentionally possessed a schedule I or II controlled substance, the district court erred in imposing a sentence greater than one year. Carmona-Lopez's argument is foreclosed by our decision in United States v. Jefferson, 791 F.3d 1013 (9th Cir. 2015), cert. denied, — U.S. —, 136 S.Ct. 1473, 194 L.Ed.2d 568 (2016). There, we held that a defendant's knowledge of drug type is not an element of the offense that the government must prove for a mandatory minimum sentence to apply. See id. at 1016, 1019. While Jefferson involved the importation statute, 21 U.S.C. § 960, the reasoning of that case is applicable here because Section 841 is "structurally identical" to section 960. See Jefferson, 791 F.3d at 1017 n.4. Moreover, Jefferson affirmed longstanding precedent holding that, under both statutes, knowledge of drug type is not an element of the offense. See, e.g., United States v. Carranza, 289 F.3d 634, 644 (9th Cir. 2002). Under Jefferson, the government was not required to prove that Carmona-Lopez knew what type of drug he possessed in order to trigger the 20- year statutory maximum under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(C).
AFFIRMED.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.