UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 04-4005
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
PATRICK RAYMOND PEER,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
South Carolina, at Greenville. G. Ross Anderson, Jr., District
Judge. (CR-03-27)
Submitted: June 23, 2004 Decided: July 7, 2004
Before WILKINSON, MOTZ, and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Richard H. Warder, Greenville, South Carolina, for Appellant. J.
Strom Thurmond, Jr., United States Attorney, Regan A. Pendleton,
Assistant United States Attorney, Greenville, South Carolina, for
Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Patrick Raymond Peer pleaded guilty to unlawful
possession of a firearm as a convicted felon, in violation of 18
U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 924(a)(2) (2000). Peer was sentenced to
twenty-seven months incarceration, two years of supervised release,
and a $100 special assessment. Peer timely appealed.
On appeal, Peer asserts the district court erred at
sentencing in denying his motion for downward departure under U.S.
Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 5K2.16 (2003). This Court lacks
jurisdiction to review the district court’s decision not to depart
downward unless the district court mistakenly believed that it
lacked authority to depart downward. United States v. Bayerle, 898
F.2d 28, 31 (4th Cir. 1990). The record indicates the district
court believed it possessed authority to grant a downward
departure, but it chose not to do so.
Accordingly, we dismiss Peer’s appeal. We dispense with
oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are
adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument
would not aid in the decisional process.
DISMISSED
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