United States v. Rafael Melendrez

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: August 29, 2022
• Docket: 22-1837
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 22-1837 ___________________________

United States of America

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee

v.

Rafael Melendrez

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas - Fayetteville ____________

Submitted: August 22, 2022 Filed: August 29, 2022 [Unpublished] ____________

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

PER CURIAM.

Rafael Melendrez appeals the sentence the district court1 imposed after he pleaded guilty to a firearm offense. His counsel has moved for leave to withdraw and

1 The Honorable Timothy L. Brooks, United States District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas. has filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), challenging the substantive reasonableness of the prison sentence.

Having reviewed the record under a deferential abuse-of-discretion standard of review, see Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 41, 51 (2007), we conclude Melendrez’s prison sentence was not substantively unreasonable. The district court considered the statutory sentencing factors and did not overlook a relevant factor, give significant weight to an improper or irrelevant factor, or commit a clear error of judgment in weighing relevant factors. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a); United States v. Feemster, 572 F.3d 455, 461 (8th Cir. 2009) (en banc); see also United States v. Dunn, 928 F.3d 688, 694 (8th Cir. 2019). We have also independently reviewed the record under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (1988), and have found no non-frivolous issues for appeal.

Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court and grant counsel’s motion to withdraw. ______________________________

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