United States v. Aaron Byrd

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 16-3731 ___________________________ United States of America lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellee v. Aaron Byrd lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant - Appellant ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Kansas City ____________ Submitted: May 17, 2017 Filed: June 2, 2017 [Unpublished] ____________ Before LOKEN, MURPHY, and BENTON, Circuit Judges. ____________ PER CURIAM. Aaron Byrd directly appeals the within-Sentencing Guidelines sentence imposed by the district court1 after he pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy offense, 1 The Honorable Gary A. Fenner, United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri. pursuant to a written plea agreement that contained a waiver of the right to appeal his conviction and sentence except on enumerated grounds. Byrd’s counsel has moved to withdraw, and in a brief filed under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), counsel challenges the sentence as substantively unreasonable and contests the application of certain Guidelines enhancements. We will enforce the appeal waiver in this case, because our review of the record demonstrates that Byrd entered into the plea agreement and the appeal waiver knowingly and voluntarily; the arguments presented fall within the scope of the appeal waiver; and no miscarriage of justice would result from enforcing the waiver. See United States v. Andis, 333 F.3d 886, 889-92 (8th Cir. 2003) (en banc). Having independently reviewed the record under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (1988), we find no nonfrivolous issues for appeal falling outside the scope of the appeal waiver. Accordingly, we grant counsel’s motion to withdraw, and we dismiss this appeal. ______________________________ -2-