United States of America v. Alejandro Lopez-Placencia

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 12-1296
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United States of America
lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellee
v.
Alejandro Lopez-Placencia
lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Western District of Arkansas - Ft. Smith
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Submitted: July 13, 2012
Filed: November 2, 2012
[Unpublished]
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Before WOLLMAN, MELLOY, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Alejandro Lopez-Placencia pleaded guilty to possessing methamphetamine
with intent to distribute. See 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A)(viii); 18 U.S.C. § 2.

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Varying downward from the applicable advisory Guidelines range, the district court1
sentenced him to 120 months in prison (the statutory minimum). On appeal, his
counsel has moved to withdraw and filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S.
738 (1967).
We conclude that the district court committed no significant procedural error
in sentencing Lopez-Placencia, and that the sentence was substantively reasonable.
See United States v. Farmer, 647 F.3d 1175, 1178 (8th Cir. 2011) (describing
appellate review); United States v. Chacon, 330 F.3d 1065, 1066 (8th Cir. 2003) (only
authority to depart from statutory minimum sentence is in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(e) and
(f), which apply when government moves for substantial-assistance departure or
defendant qualifies for safety-valve relief); see also United States v. Barrera, 562 F.3d
899, 902-03 (8th Cir. 2009) (district court may not adjust defendant’s criminal-history
score to provide § 3553(f) relief).
Having independently reviewed the record under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75
(1988), we find no nonfrivolous issue. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the
district court and grant counsel’s motion to withdraw, subject to counsel informing
appellant about procedures for seeking rehearing or filing a petition for certiorari.
______________________________
The Honorable Robert T. Dawson, United States District Judge for the1
Western District of Arkansas.
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