United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
___________________________
No. 21-1426
___________________________
United States of America
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee
v.
Gabriel Mata-Becerra
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant
____________
Appeal from United States District Court
for the Northern District of Iowa - Western
____________
Submitted: June 29, 2021
Filed: July 6, 2021
[Unpublished]
____________
Before ERICKSON, MELLOY, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.
____________
PER CURIAM.
Gabriel Mata-Becerra received a 51-month prison sentence after he pleaded
guilty to conspiring to distribute a controlled substance. See 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1),
(b)(1)(A), 846. Mata-Becerra’s counsel requests permission to withdraw and, in an
Anders brief, suggests that the sentence is substantively unreasonable. See Anders
v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967). We affirm.
We conclude that Mata-Becerra’s sentence is substantively reasonable. See
United States v. McKanry, 628 F.3d 1010, 1022 (8th Cir. 2011) (recognizing that “it
is nearly inconceivable” that once a district court has varied downward, it “abuse[s]
its discretion in not varying downward [even] further” (quotation marks omitted)).
The record establishes that the district court 1 sufficiently considered the statutory
sentencing factors, 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a), and did not rely on an improper factor or
commit a clear error of judgment. See United States v. Feemster, 572 F.3d 455, 461
(8th Cir. 2009) (en banc).
Finally, we have independently reviewed the record and conclude that no
other non-frivolous issues exist. See Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 82–83 (1988).
We accordingly affirm the judgment of the district court and grant counsel
permission to withdraw.
______________________________
1
The Honorable Leonard T. Strand, Chief Judge, United States District Court
for the Northern District of Iowa.
-2-