United States v. Carlos Rodriguez-Padron

690 F. App'x 451
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
DecidedJune 6, 2017
Docket16-3706
StatusUnpublished

This text of 690 F. App'x 451 (United States v. Carlos Rodriguez-Padron) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Carlos Rodriguez-Padron, 690 F. App'x 451 (8th Cir. 2017).

Opinion

PER CURIAM.

A jury found Carlos Alejandro Rodriguez-Padron guilty of two counts of distributing methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841 (a)(1), (b)(1)(A). The district court 1 sentenced him to 97 months in prison, followed by four years of supervised release. On appeal, Rodriguez-Padron’s counsel has filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967), challenging the sufficiency of the evidence, the admission of certain evidence, and the reasonableness of the sentence. Having jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, this court affirms.

The trial evidence showed that Rodriguez-Padron twice sold an ounce of methamphetamine to a confidential informant, and the transactions were captured on audio and video recordings. See United States v. Garcia, 646 F.3d 1061, 1066-67 (8th Cir. 2011). After Rodriguez-Padron testified that the transactions were not what they appeared to be and that he was unfamiliar with methamphetamine, the district court properly allowed the government to introduce impeachment evidence — with a limiting instruction — in the form of Rodriguez-Padron’s proffer statements, and another witness’s testimony about Rodriguez-Padron’s prior methamphetamine transactions. See United States v. Clarke, 564 F.3d 949, 957-58 (8th Cir. 2009) (finding no error under Fed. R. Evid. 404(b) by allowing impeachment evidence); United States v. Rowley, 975 F.2d 1357, 1362 (8th Cir. 1992) (upholding admission of defendant’s proffer statements for impeachment purposes). There is no support in the record for a finding that the sentence, which was at the bottom of the guidelines range, was unreasonable. See United States v. Harlan, 815 F.3d 1100, 1107 (8th Cir. 2016).

Having conducted an independent review under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 109 S.Ct. 346, 102 L.Ed.2d 300 (1988), this court finds no nonfrivolous issue.

The judgment is affirmed. Counsel’s motion to withdraw is granted.

1

. The Honorable Richard G. Kopf, United States District Judge for the District of Nebraska.

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Related

Anders v. California
386 U.S. 738 (Supreme Court, 1967)
Penson v. Ohio
488 U.S. 75 (Supreme Court, 1988)
United States v. Garcia
646 F.3d 1061 (Eighth Circuit, 2011)
United States v. Donald Edward Rowley
975 F.2d 1357 (Eighth Circuit, 1992)
United States v. Clarke
564 F.3d 949 (Eighth Circuit, 2009)
United States v. Terry Harlan
815 F.3d 1100 (Eighth Circuit, 2016)

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Bluebook (online)
690 F. App'x 451, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-carlos-rodriguez-padron-ca8-2017.