United States v. Peeler

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 04-4702 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus LONNIE EDGAR PEELER, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Asheville. Lacy H. Thornburg, District Judge. (CR-99-52) Submitted: June 24, 2005 Decided: November 3, 2005 Before WILLIAMS and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Circuit Judge. Dismissed in part and affirmed in part by unpublished per curiam opinion. Randolph Marshall Lee, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellant. Gretchen C. F. Shappert, United States Attorney, Jennifer Marie Hoefling, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). PER CURIAM: Lonnie Edgar Peeler appeals the sentence of 235 months of imprisonment imposed after he pled guilty, pursuant to a plea agreement, to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 846 (2000). The Government has moved to dismiss Peeler’s appeal based upon a waiver of appellate rights in his plea agreement. We deny the Government’s motion to dismiss. We conclude, however, that Peeler waived the right to proceed with each of his claims on appeal, except his claim of ineffective assistance of counsel. We have reviewed that claim and determine that it does not “conclusively appear[]” on the record that counsel was ineffective. United States v. Richardson, 195 F.3d 192, 198 (4th Cir. 1999) (internal quotation marks omitted). Peeler may raise his ineffective assistance claim in proceedings under 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 (West Supp. 2005). We grant the Government’s motion to file a reply to Peeler’s supplemental brief. 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 IN PART AND AFFIRMED IN PART - 2 -