United States v. Lester Rockett

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: May 10, 2022
• Docket: 21-3280
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 21-3280 ___________________________

United States of America

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee

v.

Lester Rockett

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant ____________

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

Submitted: May 5, 2022 Filed: May 10, 2022 [Unpublished] ____________

Before SHEPHERD, KELLY, and STRAS, Circuit Judges. ____________

PER CURIAM.

Lester Rockett received a 168-month prison sentence after he pleaded guilty to distributing and conspiring to distribute methamphetamine. See 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A), 841(b)(1)(B), 846. In an Anders brief, Rockett’s counsel suggests that the sentence is substantively unreasonable. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967). We conclude that Rockett’s sentence is reasonable. See United States v. McKanry, 628 F.3d 1010, 1022 (8th Cir. 2011) (recognizing that “it is nearly inconceivable that” once a district court has varied downward, it “abuse[s] its discretion in not varying downward [even] further” (quotation marks omitted)). The record establishes that the district court 1 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 (8th Cir. 2009) (en banc).

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. ______________________________

1 The Honorable Leonard T. Strand, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. -2-