Filed: Sep. 25, 2014
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 14-4097 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff – Appellee, v. RICHARD JAMAR PERRY, a/k/a Big Mac, a/k/a Mac, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at Roanoke. Samuel G. Wilson, District Judge. (7:11-cr-00076-SGW-RSB-1) Submitted: September 23, 2014 Decided: September 25, 2014 Before NIEMEYER and GREGORY, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Affirme
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 14-4097 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff – Appellee, v. RICHARD JAMAR PERRY, a/k/a Big Mac, a/k/a Mac, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia, at Roanoke. Samuel G. Wilson, District Judge. (7:11-cr-00076-SGW-RSB-1) Submitted: September 23, 2014 Decided: September 25, 2014 Before NIEMEYER and GREGORY, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Affirmed..
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 14-4097
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff – Appellee,
v.
RICHARD JAMAR PERRY, a/k/a Big Mac, a/k/a Mac,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of Virginia, at Roanoke. Samuel G. Wilson, District
Judge. (7:11-cr-00076-SGW-RSB-1)
Submitted: September 23, 2014 Decided: September 25, 2014
Before NIEMEYER and GREGORY, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON,
Senior Circuit Judge.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Dennis E. Jones, DENNIS E. JONES & ASSOCIATES, P.C., Abingdon,
Virginia, for Appellant. Timothy J. Heaphy, United States
Attorney, Jean B. Hudson, Assistant United States Attorney,
Charlottesville, Virginia, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Richard Jamar Perry pled guilty pursuant to a plea
agreement to conspiracy to make, utter, and possess counterfeit
securities. He was sentenced to forty-one months in prison. On
appeal, Perry claims that the Government breached his plea
agreement by not recommending an acceptance of responsibility
adjustment under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 3E1.1
(2011). Because we conclude that the Government did not breach
the plea agreement, we affirm.
The plea agreement provided that, if Perry accepted
responsibility for his conduct and complied with the provisions
of the agreement, the Government would recommend a two-level
reduction under USSG § 3E1.1(a), and, if applicable, an
additional one-level reduction under USSG § 3E1.1(b). The
presentence report (“PSR”) did not recommend an acceptance of
responsibility adjustment, and the Government did not move for
one at sentencing. Perry did not object.
Because Perry did not object to the Government’s
failure to make the disputed recommendation, this court’s review
is for plain error. Puckett v. United States,
556 U.S. 129,
133-34 (2009). “It is settled that a defendant alleging the
Government’s breach of a plea agreement bears the burden of
establishing that breach by a preponderance of the evidence.”
United States v. Snow,
234 F.3d 187, 189 (4th Cir. 2000). Under
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plain error review, Perry must show not only that the plea
agreement was breached, but also that “the breach was ‘so
obvious and substantial that failure to notice and correct it
affect[ed] the fairness, integrity or public reputation of the
judicial proceedings.’” United States v. McQueen,
108 F.3d 64,
66 & n.4 (4th Cir. 1997) (citing United States v. Fant,
974 F.2d
559, 565 (4th Cir. 1992)).
We conclude that there was no error, much less plain
error. The district court ruled that Perry minimized and
misstated his involvement in the crime of conviction. While
Perry asserts that language in the plea agreement permitting him
to argue whether Guidelines sections should or should not apply
prohibited the Government from withholding an acceptance of
responsibility recommendation based upon his sentencing
testimony and objections, Perry’s argument finds no support in
the record. The district court ruled that Perry’s testimony
regarding his criminal activity was not credible and that,
contrary to his testimony at the sentencing hearing, he was
intimately involved in the conspiracy from start to finish.
Thus, Perry did not receive an acceptance of responsibility
adjustment, not because he objected to the PSR, but rather
because his testimony regarding his participation in the
conspiracy was not credible and improperly sought to minimize
his participation while maximizing the participation of others.
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Because Perry did not accept responsibility for his
conduct as required by the plea agreement, the Government was
not obligated to recommend an acceptance of responsibility
adjustment. Accordingly, there was no breach by the Government,
and we, therefore, affirm the district court’s judgment. We
dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal
contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the
court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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