ORDER

HAROLD L. MURPHY, District Judge.

This case is before the Court on the Report and Recommendation on Plea of Guilty issued by United States Magistrate Judge John K. Larkins, III [72].

On February 16, 2016, a federal grand jury sitting in the Northern District of Georgia returned an indictment against Defendant and a co-defendant. (Indictment (Docket Entry No. 1).) Count one of the indictment charged Defendant and his co-defendant with conspiring "to commit offenses against the United States, that is, to knowingly steal and unlawfully take and carry away from a motortruck, trailer, and vehicle goods and chattel of a value of at least $1,000, which were moving as, were a part of, and constituted an interstate shipment of freight, express, and property, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 659," in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371 (Id. at 1.) The indictment set forth the means of the conspiracy and outlined the overt acts committed as a part of the conspiracy. (Id. at 1-8.) Count three of the indictment charged that, on or about June 10, 2014, Defendant and his co-defendant knowingly stole and unlawfully took away approximately 44,000 pounds of copper moving as an interstate shipment of freight from a company located in Carrollton, Georgia, to its customer located in Missouri, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 659 and 2. (Id. at 9.) Count four of the indictment charged that, on or about July 3, 2014, Defendant and his co-defendant knowingly stole and unlawfully took away approximately 44,000 pounds of copper moving as an interstate shipment of freight from a company located in Carrollton, Georgia, to its customer located in Indiana, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 659 and 2. (Id. at 9-10.) Count five of the indictment charged that, on or about August 23, 2014, Defendant and his co-defendant knowingly stole and unlawfully took away approximately 44,000 pounds of copper moving as an interstate shipment of freight from a company located in Carrollton, Georgia, to its customer located in Ohio, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 659 and 2. (Id. at 10.) The indictment also contained a forfeiture provision. (Id. at 12-13.)

On June 9, 2017, Defendant filed a Consent to Tender Plea Before U.S. Magistrate Judge. (Consent to Tender Plea (Docket Entry No. 70).) On that same day, Defendant entered a plea of guilty before Judge Larkins to Count One and Three of the indictment. (Minute Entry (Docket Entry No. 19); Plea Agreement (Docket Entry No. 71).)

On June 9, 2017, Judge Larkins issued his Report and Recommendation. (Report & Recommendation (Docket Entry No. 72).) Judge Larkins' Report and Recommendation states, in relevant part:

(Id. at 1-2 (capitalization and emphasis in original).)

As of the date of this Order, neither Defendant nor the Government has filed an Objection to the Report and Recommendation. The time period for filing Objections has expired, and the Court therefore finds that this matter is ripe for resolution.

Based on the Court's review of the Report and Recommendation and the record in the case, the Court finds that Defendant's plea of guilty was knowingly and voluntarily made, and that Defendant's plea to Counts One and Three the indictment was supported by an independent basis in fact establishing each of the essential elements of those offenses. Pursuant to Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court ADOPTS the Report and Recommendation [72] and makes it the Order of this Court. Defendant's plea of guilty to Counts One and Three of the indictment is hereby accepted, and Defendant is hereby adjudged guilty of said offenses. Defendant's sentencing hearing is scheduled for Friday, August 18, 2017, at 2:00 p.m., in Room 300 of the United States Courthouse, 600 East First Street, Rome, Georgia.

IT IS SO ORDERED.