UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 12-4213
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Plaintiff – Appellee,
v.
ISRAEL DELGADO LUIS, a/k/a Cune, a/k/a Victor,
Defendant – Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of
South Carolina, at Columbia. Joseph F. Anderson, Jr., District
Judge. (3:06-cr-00797-JFA-11)
Submitted: October 11, 2012 Decided: October 15, 2012
Before KING, DUNCAN, and DIAZ, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Cameron B. Littlejohn, Jr., Columbia, South Carolina, for
Appellant. Jane Barrett Taylor, Assistant United States
Attorney, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Israel Delgado Luis pled guilty, pursuant to a plea
agreement, to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute
and distribution of one kilogram or more of heroin and a
quantity of cocaine, in violation of 21 U.S.C.A. §§ 841(a)(1),
841(b)(1)(A), 841(b)(1)(C), 846 (West 2006 & Supp. 2012), and
received the mandatory minimum 120-month sentence. In
accordance with Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967),
Luis’s attorney has filed a brief certifying that there are no
meritorious issues for appeal but questioning whether Luis
entered into a knowing and voluntary plea agreement and whether
the district court erred in permitting the Government to
supplement the factual basis of the plea at sentencing to
demonstrate that the conspiracy was responsible for one kilogram
or more of heroin. The Government declined to file a brief and
Luis did not file a pro se supplemental brief. Finding no
error, we affirm.
Our review of the Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 hearing
transcript revealed no errors and that the district court
properly ensured that Luis’s guilty plea was knowing and
voluntary. Luis’s counsel also questioned whether the district
court erred in permitting the Government to supplement the
factual basis of the plea at sentencing to demonstrate that the
conspiracy was responsible for one kilogram or more of heroin.
2
Luis did not object to the additional evidence taken at the time
of sentencing to prove that the conspiracy involved well over
one kilogram of heroin. The district court “may conclude that a
factual basis exists from anything that appears on the record
. . . [and] it may defer its inquiry until sentencing.” United
States v. Martinez, 277 F.3d 517, 531 (4th Cir. 2002); see
also United States v. Ketchum, 550 F.3d 363, 366-67 (4th Cir.
2008). It is apparent that there was sufficient information
supplied by the Government to find that Luis was involved in a
conspiracy that involved more than one kilogram of heroin. We
identify no error in the court’s consideration of the evidence
presented. See United States v. DeFusco, 949 F.2d 114, 116,
119-20 (4th Cir. 1991) (noting that Rule 11 does not require the
district court to establish through its colloquy that a factual
basis exists for the plea). Accordingly, we conclude that
Luis’s guilty plea was valid.
In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the record
in this case and have found no meritorious issues for appeal.
We therefore affirm Luis’s conviction and sentence. This court
requires that counsel inform Luis, in writing, of the right to
petition the Supreme Court of the United States for further
review. If Luis requests that a petition be filed, but counsel
believes that such a petition would be frivolous, then counsel
may move in this court for leave to withdraw from
3
representation. Counsel’s motion must state that a copy thereof
was served on Luis. We dispense with oral argument because the
facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the
materials before the court and argument would not aid the
decisional process.
AFFIRMED
4