UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 15-4159
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
HECTOR MANUEL CASTANEDA GASTELO, a/k/a Frankie, a/k/a Felix,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of North Carolina, at Charlotte. Frank D. Whitney,
Chief District Judge. (3:13-cr-00264-FDW-1)
Submitted: January 29, 2015 Decided: February 24, 2016
Before KING, GREGORY, and HARRIS, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
William D. Auman, AUMAN LAW OFFICES, Asheville, North Carolina,
for Appellant. Jill Westmoreland Rose, United States Attorney,
Anthony J. Enright, Assistant United States Attorney, Charlotte,
North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Hector Manuel Castaneda Gastelo appeals his 240-month
sentence after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute and
possess with the intent to distribute heroin, in violation of
21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A), 846 (2012). Gastelo argues
that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance and that
prosecutorial misconduct occurred. We decline to consider
Gastelo’s ineffective assistance claim on direct appeal because
the record does not conclusively establish his counsel’s
ineffectiveness. See United States v. Baptiste, 596 F.3d 214,
216 n.1 (4th Cir. 2010). We also reject his claim of
prosecutorial misconduct because the Government’s statement that
it would seek to enforce a provision of the plea agreement if
Gastelo sought to withdraw his guilty plea — a statement made in
response to an inquiry from the district court — was not
improper. See United States v. Kennedy, 372 F.3d 686, 696 (4th
Cir. 2004) (stating standard).
Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.
We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal
contentions are adequately presented in the materials before
this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED
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