UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 04-4156
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
JOSE AMADOR OCHOA-PUGA,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of North Carolina, at Asheville. Lacy H. Thornburg,
District Judge. (CR-00-5)
Submitted: September 17, 2004 Decided: October 27, 2004
Before WILLIAMS, TRAXLER, and KING, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Eric J. Foster, LAW OFFICE OF RICK FOSTER, Asheville, North
Carolina, for Appellant. Gretchen C. F. Shappert, United States
Attorney, Richard L. Edwards, Assistant United States Attorney,
Asheville, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Jose Amador Ochoa-Puga pled guilty to conspiracy to
distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine,
in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 (2000), and the district court
sentenced him to a 180-month term of imprisonment. Ochoa-Puga
appeals his conviction on the ground that he did not understand the
consequences of his guilty plea and thus his plea was unknowing and
involuntary. The Government contends that Ochoa-Puga validly
waived the right to appeal his conviction in the plea agreement.
We agree with the Government and dismiss the appeal.
A defendant may waive the right to appeal if that waiver
is knowing and intelligent. United States v. Brown, 232 F.3d 399,
402-03 (4th Cir. 2000); United States v. Broughton-Jones, 71 F.3d
1143, 1146 (4th Cir. 1995). Generally, if the district court fully
questions a defendant regarding the waiver of his right to appeal
during the Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 colloquy, the waiver is both valid
and enforceable. United States v. Wessells, 936 F.2d 165, 167-68
(4th Cir. 1991); United States v. Wiggins, 905 F.2d 51, 53-54 (4th
Cir. 1990). We review de novo the question of whether a defendant
validly waived his right to appeal. United States v. General, 278
F.3d 389, 399 (4th Cir. 2002).
Our review of the plea agreement and the Rule 11 hearing
leads us to conclude that Ochoa-Puga knowingly and voluntarily pled
guilty pursuant to the written plea agreement, including the waiver
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of his right to appeal. Accordingly, we dismiss the 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 the decisional process.
DISMISSED
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