United States v. Eric Rhine

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit

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No. 21-1106

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United States of America

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee

v.

Eric Allen Rhine

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant

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

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Submitted: September 29, 2021 Filed: October 6, 2021

[Unpublished]

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Before ERICKSON, GRASZ, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.

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PER CURIAM.

Eric Rhine pleaded guilty to conspiring to manufacture, distribute, and possess with intent to distribute heroin. 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A), 846.

In an Anders brief, Rhine’s counsel suggests that the district court 1 should have imposed a sentence below the mandatory minimum of 120 months under the socalled safety valve in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f). See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967).

Upon careful review, we conclude that the district court did not clearly err in determining that the safety-valve reduction was unavailable on these facts. See United States v. Soto, 448 F.3d 993, 995–96 (8th Cir. 2006) (reviewing the district court’s findings on the availability of a safety-valve reduction for clear error). As the court found, Rhine failed to provide complete and truthful information to investigators. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(5); see also United States v. Sanchez- Gonzalez, 643 F.3d 626, 630 (8th Cir. 2011) (stating that a district court may assess truthfulness by considering how a defendant’s statements have changed).

We have also 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 and grant counsel permission to withdraw.

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