UNITED STATES v. RICHMOND (2020)

[Unpublished]

Patrick Richmond pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute various controlled substances within 1,000 feet of a truck stop and a school. See 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(C), 846, 849(b), 860(a). The district court ¹ gave him a within-Guidelines-range sentence of 78 months in prison. Richmond's counsel requests permission to withdraw and, in an Anders brief, suggests that the sentence is substantively unreasonable. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967).

We conclude that Richmond's sentence is substantively reasonable. See United States v. Callaway, 762 F.3d 754, 760 (8th Cir. 2014) (stating that a within-Guidelines-range sentence is presumptively reasonable). The record establishes that the district court sufficiently considered the statutory sentencing factors, 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), and did not rely on an improper factor or commit a clear error of judgment. See United States v. Feemster, 572 F.3d 455, 461 (8th Cir. 2009) (en banc).

Finally, we have independently reviewed the record under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 82–83, 109 S.Ct. 346, 102 L.Ed.2d 300 (1988), and conclude that there are no other non-frivolous issues for appeal. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment and grant counsel permission to withdraw.

FOOTNOTES

1.   The Honorable C.J. Williams, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Iowa.

PER CURIAM.