794 Fed.Appx. 341 (4th Cir. 2020), 19-4593, United States v. Minter

• Docket Nº: 19-4593
• Citation: 794 Fed.Appx. 341
• Opinion Judge: PER CURIAM:
• Party Name: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Dennis Maurice MINTER, Defendant-Appellant.
• Attorney: Louis C. Allen, Federal Public Defender, Tiffany T. McGregor, Assistant Federal Public Defender, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellant. Angela Hewlett Miller, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greensboro, North Carol...
• Judge Panel: Before RICHARDSON and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges, and TRAXLER, Senior Circuit Judge.
• Case Date: February 24, 2020
• Court: United States Courts of Appeals, Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit

Page 341

794 Fed.Appx. 341 (4th Cir. 2020)

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.

Dennis Maurice MINTER, Defendant-Appellant.

No. 19-4593

United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit

February 24, 2020

Submitted: January 31, 2020

UNPUBLISHED

Editorial Note:

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. (See Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure Rule 32.1)

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. N. Carlton Tilley, Jr., Senior District Judge. (1:18-cr-00471-NCT-1)

Louis C. Allen, Federal Public Defender, Tiffany T. McGregor, Assistant Federal Public Defender, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellant.

Angela Hewlett Miller, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellee.

Before RICHARDSON and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges, and TRAXLER, Senior Circuit Judge.

OPINION

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

PER CURIAM:

Pursuant to a written plea agreement, Dennis Maurice Minter pled guilty to distributing 28 grams or more of a substance containing cocaine base, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(B) (2018). The district court sentenced Minter to 182 months of imprisonment and 5 years of supervised release. On appeal, counsel for Minter filed a brief in accordance with Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967), asserting that there are no meritorious issues for appeal but seeking review of the district court’s application of the career offender sentencing enhancement. Minter filed a supplemental pro se brief challenging the same enhancement. The government elected not to file a response to the Anders brief. Having conducted a thorough review of the record, we affirm the district court’s judgment.

Minter challenges his career offender status, asserting that the district court erred in determining that he possessed the requisite predicate convictions. Generally, we review "de novo the question whether a prior state conviction constitutes a predicate felony conviction for purposes of a federal sentence enhancement." United States v. Valdovinos, 760 F.3d 322, 325 (4th Cir. 2014). However, because Minter did not object to his career offender designation before the district court, we review for plain error. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 52(b); United States v. Olano, 507 U.S. 725, 731-32, 113 S.Ct. 1770, 123 L.Ed.2d 508 (1993);...