United States v. Uriel Lira-Perez

United States Court of Appeals FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT ___________ No. 11-3728 ___________ United States of America, * * Appellee, * * Appeal from the United States v. * District Court for the Western * District of Arkansas. Uriel Lira-Perez, also known * as Uriel Lira-Perz, * [UNPUBLISHED] * Appellant. * ___________ Submitted: June 18, 2012 Filed: June 28, 2012 ___________ Before LOKEN, BOWMAN, and BENTON, Circuit Judges. ___________ PER CURIAM. After Uriel Lira-Perez pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute more than 50 grams of a methamphetamine mixture, the district court1 sentenced him to 108 months in prison and four years of supervised release. On appeal, Lira-Perez’s counsel has filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), seeking leave to withdraw. Lira-Perez has filed a pro se supplemental brief. 1 The Honorable Robert T. Dawson, United States District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas. After careful review, we conclude that the sentence imposed by the district court, which was at the bottom of the Guidelines range, was not unreasonable. See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007); United States v. Feemster, 572 F.3d 455, 461-62 (8th Cir. 2009) (en banc). As to the pro se arguments, the plea-hearing record flatly contradicts Lira-Perez’s assertion that the district court failed to advise him of the trial rights that he was waiving by pleading guilty, and we reject as legally unsupported Lira-Perez’s contention that the drug-trafficking statutes under which he was charged were rendered unconstitutional by Apprendi v. New Jersey, 530 U.S. 466 (2000). Finally, after reviewing the record independently under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 80 (1988), we find no nonfrivolous issues. Accordingly, we grant counsel leave to withdraw, and we affirm the judgment of the district court. ______________________________ -2-