Filed: Feb. 27, 2019
Latest Update: Mar. 03, 2020
Summary: United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit _ No. 18-2380 _ United States of America lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee v. Daniel Wayne Melsha lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant _ Appeal from United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa - Cedar Rapids _ Submitted: February 18, 2019 Filed: February 27, 2019 [Unpublished] _ Before GRUENDER, BOWMAN, and STRAS, Circuit Judges. _ PER CURIAM. Daniel Melsha directly appeals a within-Guidelines-range sentence f
Summary: United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit _ No. 18-2380 _ United States of America lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee v. Daniel Wayne Melsha lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant _ Appeal from United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa - Cedar Rapids _ Submitted: February 18, 2019 Filed: February 27, 2019 [Unpublished] _ Before GRUENDER, BOWMAN, and STRAS, Circuit Judges. _ PER CURIAM. Daniel Melsha directly appeals a within-Guidelines-range sentence fo..
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United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
___________________________
No. 18-2380
___________________________
United States of America
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee
v.
Daniel Wayne Melsha
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant
____________
Appeal from United States District Court
for the Northern District of Iowa - Cedar Rapids
____________
Submitted: February 18, 2019
Filed: February 27, 2019
[Unpublished]
____________
Before GRUENDER, BOWMAN, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.
____________
PER CURIAM.
Daniel Melsha directly appeals a within-Guidelines-range sentence for
possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine within 1,000 feet of a school,
21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B), 860(a), and possession of a firearm in furtherance
of a drug-trafficking crime, 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i). In an Anders brief,
Melsha’s counsel raises the district court’s 1 decision to deny an acceptance-of-
responsibility reduction and the substantive reasonableness of Melsha’s sentence as
two potential issues on appeal. See Anders v. California,
386 U.S. 738 (1967). She
also seeks permission to withdraw as counsel.
We conclude that the district court did not clearly err when it declined to adopt
an acceptance-of-responsibility reduction. See United States v. Bakhtiari,
714 F.3d
1057, 1062 (8th Cir. 2013) (per curiam) (reviewing the denial of an acceptance-of-
responsibility reduction for clear error). This is not one of those “extraordinary
cases” in which a defendant should receive both a reduction for acceptance of
responsibility and an enhancement for obstruction of justice. See United States v.
Honken,
184 F.3d 961, 968–69 (8th Cir. 1999).
We further conclude that Melsha’s sentence is substantively reasonable. See
United States v. Feemster,
572 F.3d 455, 461–62 (8th Cir. 2009) (en banc)
(discussing appellate review of sentencing decisions). The record establishes that
the district court adequately considered the statutory sentencing factors, 18 U.S.C.
§ 3553(a), when it sentenced him. See United States v. Calloway,
762 F.3d 754, 760
(8th Cir. 2014) (stating that a within-Guidelines-range sentence is presumptively
reasonable).
We have also independently reviewed the record under Penson v. Ohio,
488
U.S. 75 (1988), and there are no other non-frivolous issues for appeal. Accordingly,
we affirm the judgment, and we grant counsel’s motion to withdraw.
______________
1
The Honorable Linda R. Reade, United States District Judge for the Northern
District of Iowa.
-2-