United States v. Perez-Ruiz

SELYA, Circuit Judge.

Defendant-appellant Julio Pérez-Ruiz, sometimes known by the sobriquet “Goy-ito,” asks us to reverse his conviction for conspiracy to distribute narcotics or, in the alternative, to vacate his sentence. Although we discern no reversible error with regard to the conviction, we conclude that the district court sentenced the appellant to life imprisonment in violation of the rule announced in Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466, 120 S.Ct. 2348, 147 L.Ed.2d 435 (2000). Because we cannot classify that error as harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, we vacate the sentence and…