United States v. Breedlove

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,  Plaintiff-Appellee, v.  No. 01-4759 JAMES WAVERLY BREEDLOVE, JR., Defendant-Appellant.  Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at Durham. James A. Beaty, Jr., District Judge. (CR-01-63) Submitted: April 25, 2002 Decided: May 6, 2002 Before WILLIAMS and KING, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Vacated and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion. COUNSEL Louis C. Allen III, Federal Public Defender, William S. Trivette, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellant. Anna Mills Wagoner, United States Attorney, John W. Stone, Jr., Assistant United States Attorney, Greensboro, North Caro- lina, for Appellee. 2 UNITED STATES v. BREEDLOVE Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). OPINION PER CURIAM: Pursuant to a written plea agreement, James Waverly Breedlove, Jr., pled guilty to bank robbery. The agreement provided that "the Government will make no recommendation to the Court as to what sentence the defendant should receive within the sentencing guideline range." At sentencing, the court determined Breedlove’s guideline range to be 151 to 188 months. Contrary to the terms of the plea agreement, the Assistant United States Attorney argued in favor of a sentence at the higher end of the range. The court thereafter imposed a 180-month sentence. Breedlove argues, and the Government concedes, that this consti- tutes a breach of the plea agreement. Due to the Government’s breach —albeit inadvertent—of the plea agreement Breedlove failed to receive the benefit of his bargain. See Santobello v. New York, 404 U.S. 257, 262 (1971). We therefore vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing before a different district court judge. See United States v. Peglera, 33 F.3d 412, 415 (4th Cir. 1994); United States v. Brown, 500 F.2d 375, 378 (4th Cir. 1974). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately pre- sented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. VACATED AND REMANDED