United States v. Chovontae Farmer

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit

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No. 22-1032

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United States of America

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee

v.

Chovontae Martise Farmer

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant

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Appeal from United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Eastern

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Submitted: August 19, 2022 Filed: August 30, 2022

[Unpublished]

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Before SHEPHERD, MELLOY, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.

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PER CURIAM.

Chovontae Farmer received a 228-month prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances, 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 846, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug-trafficking crime, 18 U.S.C.

§ 924(c)(1)(A)(i). An Anders brief suggests that the district court1 should have granted a mitigating-role reduction and that the overall sentence is substantively unreasonable. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967).

We conclude that the district court did not clearly err when it denied a mitigating-role reduction. See United States v. Hunt, 840 F.3d 554, 557 (8th Cir. 2016) (per curiam). We also conclude that Farmer received a substantively reasonable sentence. See United States v. Callaway, 762 F.3d 754, 760 (8th Cir. 2014) (stating that a within-Guidelines sentence is presumed 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– 62 (8th Cir. 2009) (en banc).

Finally, we have independently reviewed the record and conclude that no other non-frivolous issues exist. See Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 82–83 (1988). We accordingly affirm the judgment of the district court, deny the motion to file a pro se supplemental brief, and grant counsel permission to withdraw.

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1 The Honorable John A. Jarvey, then Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, now retired.