UNITED STATES v. WALKER (2019)

[Unpublished]

Deleon Walker directly appeals after he pleaded guilty to Hobbs Act robbery and a firearm offense, and the district court ¹ sentenced him below the Guidelines range to the statutory minimum sentence. His counsel has moved for leave to withdraw, and has filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967), challenging Walker’s classification as an armed career criminal under the Armed Career Criminal Act (ACCA).

Upon careful review, we conclude that the district court did not err in classifying Walker as an armed career criminal, see United States v. Shockley, 816 F.3d 1058, 1062 (8th Cir. 2016) (reviewing classification under ACCA de novo), as we find that Walker’s three prior convictions for Minnesota aggravated robbery qualify as violent felonies under the ACCA. See United States v. Pettis, 888 F.3d 962, 965-66 (8th Cir. 2018), cert. denied, ––– U.S. ––––, 139 S. Ct. 1258, 203 L.Ed.2d 281 (2019); United States v. Libby, 880 F.3d 1011, 1013 (8th Cir. 2018); see also Stokeling v. United States, ––– U.S. ––––, 139 S. Ct. 544, 202 L.Ed.2d 512 (2019).

We have also independently reviewed the record under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 109 S.Ct. 346, 102 L.Ed.2d 300 (1988), and we find no non-frivolous issues for appeal. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment, and we grant counsel’s motion to withdraw. Walker’s motion to stay the appeal is denied.

FOOTNOTES

1.   The Honorable John R. Tunheim, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the District of Minnesota.

PER CURIAM.