United States v. Jose Valencia

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: June 24, 2019
• Docket: 18-2937
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 18-2937 ___________________________

United States of America

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee

v.

Jose Maria Valencia, also known as Don Chema

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa - Waterloo ____________

Submitted: June 19, 2019 Filed: June 24, 2019 [Unpublished] ____________

Before COLLOTON, ERICKSON, and STRAS, Circuit Judges. ____________

PER CURIAM.

Jose Valencia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A), 846. The district court 1 sentenced him to life in

1 The Honorable Linda R. Reade, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Iowa. prison. In an Anders brief, Valencia’s counsel suggests that the sentence is substantively unreasonable and requests permission to withdraw. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967).

We conclude that Valencia’s sentence is substantively reasonable. See United States v. Feemster, 572 F.3d 455, 461–62 (8th Cir. 2009) (en banc) (discussing appellate review of sentencing decisions); see also 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. Wohlman, 651 F.3d 878, 887 (8th Cir. 2011); Feemster, 572 F.3d at 461. 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). Accordingly, we affirm the judgment and grant counsel permission to withdraw. ______________________________

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