Filed: Jun. 25, 2018
Latest Update: Mar. 03, 2020
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 18-4028 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. DERRICK SUTTON, a/k/a Bloody, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, at Clarksburg. Irene M. Keeley, Senior District Judge. (1:17-cr-00027-IMK-MJA-1) Submitted: June 21, 2018 Decided: June 25, 2018 Before DIAZ and HARRIS, Circuit Judges, and SHEDD, Senior Circuit Judge. Affirmed by unpublished per
Summary: UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 18-4028 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. DERRICK SUTTON, a/k/a Bloody, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, at Clarksburg. Irene M. Keeley, Senior District Judge. (1:17-cr-00027-IMK-MJA-1) Submitted: June 21, 2018 Decided: June 25, 2018 Before DIAZ and HARRIS, Circuit Judges, and SHEDD, Senior Circuit Judge. Affirmed by unpublished per ..
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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 18-4028
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
DERRICK SUTTON, a/k/a Bloody,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, at
Clarksburg. Irene M. Keeley, Senior District Judge. (1:17-cr-00027-IMK-MJA-1)
Submitted: June 21, 2018 Decided: June 25, 2018
Before DIAZ and HARRIS, Circuit Judges, and SHEDD, Senior Circuit Judge.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Charles T. Berry, Fairmont, West Virginia, for Appellant. Zelda Elizabeth Wesley,
Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY,
Clarksburg, West Virginia, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Derrick Sutton pled guilty, pursuant to a plea agreement, to possession with intent
to distribute a quantity of cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) (2012). The
district court sentenced Sutton to 151 months’ imprisonment, the bottom of his advisory
Sentencing Guidelines range. Counsel has filed a brief pursuant to Anders v. California,
386 U.S. 738 (1967), stating that there are no meritorious grounds for appeal but
questioning whether trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to advise Sutton
that he would likely be sentenced as a career offender and whether the prosecutor engaged
in misconduct by failing to mention the career offender enhancement during plea
negotiations. Sutton was advised of his right to file a supplemental brief, but he has not
done so. We affirm.
We do not consider ineffective assistance claims on direct appeal “[u]nless an
attorney’s ineffectiveness conclusively appears on the face of the record.” United States v.
Faulls,
821 F.3d 502, 507-08 (4th Cir. 2016). “Because there is no conclusive evidence of
ineffective assistance on the face of this record, we conclude that [Sutton’s] claim should
be raised, if at all, in a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 motion.”
Id. at 508. Further, our review of the
current record reveals no evidence of prosecutorial misconduct.
In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the entire record in this case and have
found no meritorious grounds for appeal. We therefore affirm the district court’s judgment.
This court requires that counsel inform Sutton, in writing, of the right to petition the
Supreme Court of the United States for further review. If Sutton requests that a petition be
filed, but counsel believes that such a petition would be frivolous, then counsel may move
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in this court for leave to withdraw from representation. Counsel’s motion must state that
a copy thereof was served on Sutton.
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
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