In the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ No. 20-1093 MICHAEL GERALD GAMBOA, Petitioner-Appellant, v. CHARLES DANIELS *, Warden, Respondent-Appellee. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois. No. 17-cv-1346 — James E. Shadid, Judge. ____________________ ARGUED NOVEMBER 30, 2021 — DECIDED FEBRUARY 14, 2022 ____________________ Before KANNE, WOOD, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges. KANNE, Circuit Judge. In 2003, a federal jury in North Da- kota convicted Michael Gamboa of seven counts of drug and firearm crimes. At sentencing, the district court found that Gamboa had two or more prior convictions for felony drug offenses, which meant he was subject to a mandatory term of *We substitute Charles Daniels, Warden of USP Beaumont, Texas, as the respondent. Fed. R. App. P. 23(a). 2 No. 20-1093 life imprisonment without release under 21 U.S.C. § 841(b)(1)(A)(viii) on two of the counts. After an unsuccessful direct appeal and multiple 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motions and 28 U.S.C. § 2241 petitions, Gamboa again seeks a writ of habeas corpus under § 2241. He argues that, under Mathis v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 2243 (2016), his prior state drug convictions do not constitute felony drug offenses for the purposes of the sentencing enhancement under § 841(b)(1)(A), as defined in 21 U.S.C. § 802(44). The district court denied habeas relief be- cause Gamboa had not shown that his claim was previously foreclosed at the time of his initial § 2255 motion. We affirm. I. BACKGROUND A. Gamboa’s Sentencing and Direct Appeal In 2003, a jury in the District of North Dakota found Gam- boa guilty on all counts of a seven-count indictment for of- fenses involving firearms, narcotics possession, and conspir- acy to possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. Relevant here are Counts 1 and 2: conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and aiding and abet- ting in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846, as defined under 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), and 18 U.S.C. § 2 (Count 1); and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and aiding and abetting in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and 18 U.S.C. § 2 (Count 2). Before trial, the government filed its notice of prior convic- tions under 21 U.S.C. § 851(a). The notice alleged that Gamboa had three prior convictions for felony drug offenses: (1) a fel- ony conviction for a drug-distribution conspiracy occurring between September 1994 and November 1995, involving co- caine, methamphetamine, and/or marijuana, entered on No. 20-1093 3 October 11, 1996, in Polk County District Court, Minnesota, in violation of Minn. Stat. § 152.096, subdiv. 1 (1989); (2) a felony conviction for a controlled-substance offense in the fifth de- gree, possession of a mixture containing cocaine occurring on or about September 13, 1995, entered on October 11, 1996, in Polk County District Court, Minnesota, in violation of Minn. Stat. § 152.025, subdiv. 2(1) (1995); and (3) a felony conviction for delivery of marijuana occurring on or about November 27, 1995, entered …
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