State v. Clayton

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA

In The Court of Appeals

The State,       
Respondent,

v.

Robert Lee Clayton,       
Appellant.

Appeal From Clarendon County

Thomas W. Cooper, Jr., Circuit Court
Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2003-UP-616

Submitted August 20, 2003 – Filed
October 21, 2003

APPEAL DISMISSED

Senior Assistant Appellate Defender Wanda H. Haile,
of Columbia, for Appellant.

Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney
General John W. McIntosh and Assistant Deputy Attorney General Charles H. Richardson,
all of Columbia; and Solicitor C. Kelly Jackson, of Sumter, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM:  Robert Lee Clayton was tried
in absentia for charges in connection with an armed robbery at
the Guesthouse Inn on January 10, 2002.  The jury found him guilty of armed
robbery and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. 
At the opening of the sealed sentence, Clayton was sentenced fifteen years for
armed robbery and five years, concurrent, for possession of a weapon during
the commission of a violent crime.  Additionally, Clayton pled guilty to attempted
second degree burglary for attempting to break into the Guesthouse Inn again
on January 20, 2002.  The judge sentenced him to ten years, concurrent to his
other sentences.  Clayton’s appellate counsel filed a brief pursuant to Anders
v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967).  Counsel additionally submitted a petition
to be relieved from representation, asserting there are no directly appealable
issues of arguable merit.  Clayton filed a pro se response with
the Court.

After a review of the record pursuant to Anders
and State v. Williams, 305 S.C. 116, 406 S.E.2d 357 (1991), we dismiss
the appeal and grant counsel’s petition to be relieved.
[1]

APPEAL DISMISSED.

HEARN, C.J., CONNOR and ANDERSON, JJ., concur.

[1] We decide this case without oral argument pursuant to Rule 215, SCACR.