United States v. Vanessa Vela

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: September 7, 2021
• Docket: 21-1930
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 21-1930 ___________________________

United States of America

lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee

v.

Vanessa Vela

lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant ____________

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

Submitted: September 1, 2021 Filed: September 7, 2021 [Unpublished] ____________

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

PER CURIAM.

Vanessa Vela appeals the sentence the district court1 imposed after she pleaded guilty to a drug offense. Her counsel has moved to withdraw and has filed a brief

1 The Honorable John A. Jarvey, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa. under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), arguing that the district court erred in denying a mitigating-role reduction.

After careful review of the record, we conclude that the district court did not clearly err in declining to apply a mitigating-role reduction, because unobjected-to facts in the presentence report (PSR) indicated that Vela coordinated deliveries of drugs, wired money for the drug conspiracy, and allowed drugs to be stored in her home. See United States v. Hunt, 840 F.3d 554, 557 (8th Cir. 2016) (per curiam) (standard of review); see also United States v. Menteer, 408 F.3d 445, 446 (8th Cir. 2005) (per curiam) (unobjected-to facts in PSR are deemed admitted).

Further, having independently reviewed the record under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (1988), we find no nonfrivolous issues for appeal. Accordingly, we grant counsel’s motion and affirm. ______________________________

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