United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT December 12, 2006
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
No. 05-41532
Conference Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
LEONARDO ALVARADO-BLANCO,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Texas
USDC No. 4:04-CR-141-2
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Before KING, WIENER, and OWEN, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Leonardo Alvarado-Blanco appeals his guilty-plea conviction
and 210-month sentence for conspiracy to manufacture, distribute,
or possess with intent to distribute more than 500 grams of a
mixture containing methamphetamine. His plea agreement included
a waiver of appeal provision, with an exception for, among other
things, a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel that affects
the validity of the waiver itself. The record reflects that the
district court admonished Alvarado-Blanco at the plea hearing
regarding the appeal waiver and that he stated that he understood
*
Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 47.5, the court has determined that
this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except
under the limited circumstances set forth in 5TH CIR. R. 47.5.4.
No. 05-41532
-2-
the waiver. See United States v. McKinney, 406 F.3d 744, 746
(5th Cir. 2005).
Alvarado-Blanco argued in his opening brief that his
appointed trial counsel was ineffective during plea negotiations
such that the appeal waiver was invalid. However, he concedes in
his reply brief that this argument was premised on a misreading
of the plea agreement. For the first time in his reply brief,
Alvarado-Blanco criticizes retained counsel’s performance at
sentencing. Alvarado-Blanco explicitly stated in his opening
brief that counsel’s performance at sentencing was irrelevant to
his appeal. This court will not reach arguments raised for the
first time in a reply brief. United States v. Prince, 868 F.2d
1379, 1386 (5th Cir. 1989).
Accordingly, Alvarado-Blanco’s conviction and sentence are
AFFIRMED.