UNITED STATES v. JONES (2019)

[Unpublished]

Gerald A. Jones directly appeals the sentence the district court ¹ imposed after he pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute heroin, pursuant to a written plea agreement. Counsel seeks permission 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), asserting that Jones’s due process rights were violated at sentencing.

After careful review of the record, we conclude that the due process argument fails on the merits. Specifically, the district court properly relied on testimony and evidence presented at sentencing in resolving disputed portions of the PSR. See United States v. Kozohorsky, 708 F.3d 1028, 1033 (8th Cir. 2013) (per curiam); United States v. Pratt, 553 F.3d 1165, 1170-71 (8th Cir. 2009).

Having independently reviewed the record under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 109 S.Ct. 346, 102 L.Ed.2d 300 (1988), we find no non-frivolous issues for appeal. Accordingly, we grant counsel’s motion, and affirm.

FOOTNOTES

1.   The Honorable Roseann A. Ketchmark, United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri.

PER CURIAM.