United States v. Alejandro Lopez-Placencia

491 F. App'x 775

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: November 2, 2012
• Docket: 12-1296
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

Alejandro Lopez-Placencia pleaded guilty to possessing methamphetamine with intent to distribute. See 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(l)(A)(viii); 18 U.S.C. § 2. Varying downward from the applicable advisory Guidelines range, the district court 1 sentenced him to 120 months in prison (the statutory minimum). On appeal, his counsel has moved to withdraw and filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967).

We conclude that the district court committed no significant procedural error in sentencing Lopez-Placencia, and that the sentence was substantively reasonable. See United States v. Farmer, 647 F.3d 1175, 1178 (8th Cir.2011) (describing appellate review); United States v. Chacon, 330 F.3d 1065, 1066 (8th Cir.2003) (only authority to depart from statutory minimum sentence is in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(e) and (f), which apply when government moves for substantial-assistance departure or defendant qualifies for safety-valve relief); see also United States v. Barrera, 562 F.3d 899, 902-03 (8th Cir.2009) (district court may not adjust defendant’s criminal-history score to provide § 3553(f) relief).

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 nonfrivolous issue. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court and grant counsel’s motion to withdraw, subject to counsel informing appellant about procedures for seeking rehearing or filing a petition for certiorari.

1 . The Honorable Robert T. Dawson, United States District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas.