United States v. Flores-Ramirez

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,  Plaintiff-Appellee, v.  No. 02-4037 ERIK RENE FLORES-RAMIREZ, Defendant-Appellant.  Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at Durham. N. Carlton Tilley, Jr., Chief District Judge. (CR-01-216) Submitted: June 20, 2002 Decided: July 1, 2002 Before MICHAEL and KING, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.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, Arnold L. Husser, Assistant United States Attorney, Greensboro, North Caro- lina, for Appellee. 2 UNITED STATES v. FLORES-RAMIREZ Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). OPINION PER CURIAM: Erik Rene Flores-Ramirez pled guilty to being an illegal alien in the United States in the possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C.A. §§ 922(g)(5), 924(a)(2) (West 2000). He appeals from his 57-month sentence. We affirm. The probation officer recommended that Flores-Ramirez’s sentence be enhanced because the possession of the firearm was in connection with a drug trafficking offense. At sentencing, Flores-Ramirez objected to this recommendation and presented evidence to the con- trary. The sentencing judge found Defendant’s evidence to be incredi- ble. The district court’s assessment of the credibility of witnesses generally is not reviewable on appeal. United States v. Saunders, 886 F.2d 56, 60 (4th Cir. 1989). We find no clear error in the district court’s factual determination that Flores-Ramirez’s possession of the firearm was in connection with a drug trafficking offense. See United States v. Uwaeme, 975 F.2d 1016, 1018 (4th Cir. 1992) (providing standard). Accordingly, we affirm Flores-Ramirez’s sentence. We dis- pense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED