United States v. Gallegos-diaz

FILED NOT FOR PUBLICATION APR 15 2010 MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, No. 09-30074 Plaintiff - Appellee, D.C. No. 2:08-cr-00144-JLR v. ARTURO GALLEGOS-DIAZ, MEMORANDUM * a.k.a. Alaquin and Nahum Copado-Nieto, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington James L. Robart, District Judge, Presiding Submitted April 5, 2010 ** Before: RYMER, McKEOWN, and PAEZ, Circuit Judges. Arturo Gallegos-Diaz appeals from his guilty-plea conviction and 216- month sentence for conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, in violation of * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3. ** The panel unanimously concludes this case is suitable for decision without oral argument. See Fed. R. App. P. 34(a)(2). 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A) and 846. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm. Pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), Gallegos-Diaz’s counsel has filed a brief stating there are no grounds for relief, along with a motion to withdraw as counsel of record. We have considered the claims raised by Gallegos-Diaz’s pro se letter submitted on June 19, 2009. No answering brief has been filed. Our independent review of the record pursuant to Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 80-81 (1988), discloses no arguable grounds for relief on direct appeal. Accordingly, counsel’s motion to withdraw is GRANTED, Gallegos-Diaz’s request for appointment of new counsel is denied, and the district court’s judgment is AFFIRMED. 2 09-30074