Filed: Feb. 09, 2016
Latest Update: Mar. 02, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 15-4430 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. DEMARIO CORTEZ GLADDEN, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. William L. Osteen, Jr., Chief District Judge. (1:14-cr-00402-WO-1) Submitted: January 28, 2016 Decided: February 9, 2016 Before SHEDD, DUNCAN, and KEENAN, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Louis
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 15-4430 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. DEMARIO CORTEZ GLADDEN, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. William L. Osteen, Jr., Chief District Judge. (1:14-cr-00402-WO-1) Submitted: January 28, 2016 Decided: February 9, 2016 Before SHEDD, DUNCAN, and KEENAN, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Louis C..
More
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 15-4430
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
DEMARIO CORTEZ GLADDEN,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle
District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. William L. Osteen,
Jr., Chief District Judge. (1:14-cr-00402-WO-1)
Submitted: January 28, 2016 Decided: February 9, 2016
Before SHEDD, DUNCAN, and KEENAN, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Louis C. Allen, Federal Public Defender, John A. Duberstein,
Assistant Federal Public Defender, Greensboro, North Carolina, for
Appellant. Robert Albert Jamison Lang, Assistant United States
Attorney, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Demario Cortez Gladden appeals his conviction and sentence of
84 months of imprisonment for brandishing a firearm in relation to
a crime of violence, in violation of 18 U.S.C.
§§ 2, 924(c)(1)(A)(ii) (2012). Appellate counsel has filed a
brief pursuant to Anders v. California,
386 U.S. 738 (1967),
concluding that there are no meritorious issues for appeal.
Gladden has filed a pro se supplemental brief arguing that the
evidence was insufficient to convict him and that law enforcement
officials committed entrapment. We affirm.
A guilty plea is valid where the defendant voluntarily,
knowingly, and intelligently pleads guilty “with sufficient
awareness of the relevant circumstances and likely consequences.”
United States v. Fisher,
711 F.3d 460, 464 (4th Cir. 2013)
(internal quotation marks omitted). Before accepting a guilty
plea, a district court must ensure that the plea is knowing,
voluntary, and supported by an independent factual basis. Fed. R.
Crim. P. 11(b); United States v. DeFusco,
949 F.2d 114, 116 (4th
Cir. 1991).
Because Gladden neither raised an objection during the Rule
11 proceeding nor moved to withdraw his guilty plea in the district
court, we review his Rule 11 proceeding for plain error. United
States v. Sanya,
774 F.3d 812, 815 (4th Cir. 2014). Our review of
the record reveals that the district court fully complied with
2
Rule 11 in accepting Gladden’s guilty plea after a thorough
hearing. Accordingly, we conclude that his plea was knowing and
voluntary, see
Fisher, 711 F.3d at 464, and thus “final and
binding,” see United States v. Lambey,
974 F.2d 1389, 1394 (4th
Cir. 1992) (en banc).
We review Gladden’s sentence for reasonableness “under a
deferential abuse-of-discretion standard.” United States v.
McCoy,
804 F.3d 349, 351 (4th Cir. 2015) (quoting Gall v. United
States,
552 U.S. 38, 41 (2007)). This review entails appellate
consideration of both the procedural and substantive
reasonableness of the sentence.
Gall, 552 U.S. at 51. We presume
that a sentence imposed within the properly calculated Sentencing
Guidelines range is reasonable. United States v. Mendoza-Mendoza,
597 F.3d 212, 217 (4th Cir. 2010).
We have reviewed the record and conclude that the court
properly calculated the Guidelines range, treated the Guidelines
as advisory rather than mandatory, gave the parties an opportunity
to argue for an appropriate sentence, considered the 18 U.S.C.
§ 3353(a) factors, selected a sentence not based on clearly
erroneous facts, and sufficiently explained the chosen sentence.
Furthermore, Gladden’s sentence of 84 months was exactly as
recommended by the Guidelines and was the statutory mandatory
minimum sentence. Therefore, we conclude that Gladden’s sentence
is reasonable.
3
Gladden’s guilty plea forecloses his claims of insufficient
evidence and entrapment. See United States v. Willis,
992 F.2d
489, 490 (4th Cir. 1993) (“[A] guilty plea constitutes a waiver of
all nonjurisdictional defects, including the right to contest the
factual merits of the charges.” (internal quotation marks
omitted)).
In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the entire record
in this case and have found no meritorious issues for appeal. We
therefore affirm Gladden’s conviction and sentence. This court
requires that counsel inform Gladden, in writing, of the right to
petition the Supreme Court of the United States for further review.
If Gladden requests that a petition be filed, but counsel believes
that such a petition would be frivolous, then counsel may move in
this court for leave to withdraw from representation. Counsel’s
motion must state that a copy thereof was served on Gladden.
We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal
contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this
court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
4