United States v. Chambers

UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. No. 94-5777 CHRISTOPHER WAYNE CHAMBERS, Defendant-Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of North Carolina, at Charlotte. Robert D. Potter, Senior District Judge. (CR-94-29-P) Submitted: January 28, 1997 Decided: February 24, 1997 Before WIDENER, MURNAGHAN, and WILKINS, Circuit Judges. _________________________________________________________________ Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. _________________________________________________________________ COUNSEL Randolph Marshall Lee, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellant. Robert J. Conrad, Jr., Assistant United States Attorney, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellee. _________________________________________________________________ Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). OPINION PER CURIAM: Christopher Wayne Chambers pled guilty pursuant to a plea bar- gain to conspiracy to possess cocaine with intent to distribute, in vio- lation of 21 U.S.C.A. § 846 (West Supp. 1996). He was sentenced to 151 months imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release. The district court imposed a $3000 fine. Chambers's attorney has filed a brief in accordance with Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), raising one potential jurisdictional claim but concluding that there are no meritorious grounds for appeal. Chambers was noti- fied of his right to file a supplemental brief, but has not done so. We affirm. Counsel claims that the district court should not have asserted juris- diction over Chambers because he was not yet eighteen years old dur- ing his early participation in the conspiracy. But counsel concedes that Chambers was eighteen when he committed some overt acts in furtherance of the conspiracy. Conspiracy is a continuing crime, and the fact that Chambers may have become involved in the conspiracy before his eighteenth birthday does not protect him from being prose- cuted as an adult as long as his participation continued after his eigh- teenth birthday. United States v. Spoone, 741 F.2d 680, 687 (4th Cir. 1984). Therefore, this claim lacks merit. In accordance with Anders, we have examined the entire record in this case and find no meritorious issues for appeal. We therefore affirm the conviction and sentence. We deny counsel's motion to withdraw at this time. This court requires that counsel inform his cli- ent, in writing, of his right to petition the Supreme Court of the United States for further review. If the client 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 repre- sentation. Counsel's motion must state that a copy thereof was served on the client. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal conten- tions are adequately presented in the record and briefs, and oral argu- ment would not aid the decisional process. AFFIRMED 2