Opinion
No. 05-4488.
Submitted: March 7, 2007.
Filed: March 12, 2007.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Tiffany G. Becker, U.S. Attorney's Office, St. Louis, MO, for Appellee.
Paul E. Sims, Stokely Group, St. Louis, MO, Alfredo Flores, Big Spring, TX, for Appellant.
Before WOLLMAN, MURPHY, and BYE, Circuit Judges.
[UNPUBLISHED]
Alfredo Flores appeals the 150-month prison sentence the district court imposed upon his guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute marijuana and cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), and 846. For reversal, Flores argues that Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 159 L.Ed.2d 403 (2004), effectively overruled Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U.S. 224, 118 S.Ct. 1219, 140 L.Ed.2d and that the district court therefore violated his Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights in finding that his prior controlledsubstance convictions qualified him for sentencing as a career offender under U.S.S.G. § 4B1.1. Flores's argument fails as we are still bound by Almendarez-Torres. See United States v. Torres-Alva-rado, 416 F.3d 808, 810 (8th Cir. 2005) ("we are bound by Almendarez-Torres until the Supreme Court explicitly overrules it"); see also United States v. Marcussen, 403 F.3d 982, 984 (8th Cir.) (holding that district court, not jury, determines whether prior convictions subject defendant to be sentenced as career offender), cert. denied, ___ U.S. ___, 126 S.Ct. 457, 163 L.Ed.2d 347 (2005).
The Honorable Carol E. Jackson, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Accordingly, we affirm.