USCA1 Opinion
[NOT FOR PUBLICATION]
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIRST CIRCUIT
____________________
No. 96-1755
UNITED STATES,
Appellee,
v.
JAMES OTIS RAINES,
Defendant, Appellant.
____________________
APPEAL FROM THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF MAINE
[Hon. D. Brock Hornby, U.S. District Judge] ___________________
____________________
Before
Torruella, Chief Judge, ___________
Campbell, Senior Circuit Judge, ____________________
and Boudin, Circuit Judge. _____________
____________________
Gordon R. Blakeney, Jr. on brief for appellant. _______________________
Jay P. McCloskey, United States Attorney, James L. McCarthy and ________________ __________________
Margaret D. McGaughey, Assistant United States Attorneys, on brief for _____________________
appellee.
____________________
March 25, 1997
____________________
Per Curiam. Upon careful review of the briefs and ___________
record, we conclude that defendant's plea should not be
vacated. The district court told defendant that he was
"subject to a term of imprisonment which is a minimum of 15
years." Even though the district court did not state that
the minimum sentence was "mandatory," that slip does not
entitle defendant to relief in the circumstances of this
case.
Defendant offers no plausible reason for his belated
attempt to change his plea; he makes no claim of innocence;
and there is nothing legally suspect about the plea. The
proceedings as a whole suggest that defendant reasonably
should have understood, and did understand, the sentencing
implications of his plea. See United States v. Lopez-Pineda, ___ _____________ ____________
55 F.3d 693, 696 (1st Cir. 1995).
We also find no merit in defendant's contention
regarding an enhancement for obstruction of justice. That
enhancement had no bearing on the armed career criminal
sentence ultimately imposed here under U.S.S.G.
4B1.4(b)(3). See United States v. Ruiz-Garcia, 886 F.2d 474, ___ _____________ ___________
476 (1st Cir. 1989).
Affirmed. See 1st Cir. Loc. R. 27.1. ________ ___
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