US v. Bobby Richardson

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 3:09-cr-00015-JRS-1 Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [998647358].. [09-5015]

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Date Filed: 08/04/2011

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 09-5015

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
BOBBY RICHARDSON, a/k/a Ice,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of Virginia, at Richmond.
James R. Spencer, Chief
District Judge. (3:09-cr-00015-JRS-1)

Submitted:

June 30, 2011

Decided:

August 4, 2011

Before GREGORY, AGEE, and WYNN, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Charles D. Lewis, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellant.
Neil H.
MacBride, United States Attorney, Angela Mastandrea-Miller,
Assistant United States Attorney, Richmond, Virginia, for
Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
A jury convicted Bobby Richardson of possession with
intent to distribute heroin, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)
(2006);

distribution

of

heroin,

in

violation

of

§

841(a);

possession of a firearm after being convicted of a felony, in
violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1) (2006); and six counts of
forging currency, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 471 (2006).
district
Counsel

court
has

California,

sentenced

submitted
386

him

this

U.S.

738

to

288

months’

The

imprisonment.
Anders

appeal

pursuant

to

(1967),

averring

there

are

v.
no

meritorious issues for appeal but asking this court to review
the validity of the warrant to search Richardson’s business and
the

reasonableness

of

Richardson’s

sentence.

Richardson

has

filed pro se supplemental briefs.

After our initial review, we

ordered

whether

the

parties

to

address

the

district

court

adequately stated its reasons for imposing the chosen sentence
and, if not, whether its failure to do so constitutes harmless
error.

Having

fully

considered

the

arguments

raised

by

Richardson and the Government, * we affirm.

*

In his pro se briefs, Richardson contends that the
prosecutor improperly vouched for the credibility of an
informant during closing argument. We have reviewed this claim
and conclude that it lacks merit. Richardson also asserts that
counsel rendered ineffective assistance by failing to discover
that Richardson’s prior convictions were invalid. We decline to
review this claim on direct appeal.
United States v.
(Continued)
2

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Richardson first challenges the validity of the search
warrant.

The relevant inquiry is whether, under the totality of

the circumstances, the issuing judge had a substantial basis for
concluding

there

was

probable

cause

to

issue

the

warrant.

Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 238-39 (1983); United States v.
Grossman, 400 F.3d 212, 217 (4th Cir. 2005).
inquiry,

we

affidavits
warrant

avoid

lest

applying

police

application

“‘hypertechnical’

officers

process

In conducting this

be

encouraged

altogether.”

scrutiny
to

United

of

forgo

the

States

v.

Robinson, 275 F.3d 371, 380 (4th Cir. 2001) (quoting Gates, 462
U.S. at 236).

This court reviews the district court’s “factual

findings underlying a motion to suppress for clear error[] and
. . . legal determinations de novo.”

Grossman, 400 F.3d at 216.

Our review of the record leads us to conclude that the district
court’s factual findings were not clearly erroneous, that the
warrant was valid and supported by probable cause, and that the
district court did not err in denying Richardson’s motion to
suppress.
Richardson also challenges the reasonableness of his
sentence.

This court applies an abuse of discretion standard of

review as to this claim.

Baldovinos,
standard).

434

F.3d

Gall v. United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51

233,

239

3

(4th

Cir.

2006)

(providing

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(2007); see also United States v. Llamas, 599 F.3d 381, 387 (4th
Cir.

2010).

Reasonableness

consideration

of

reasonableness

of

determining
consider

the

whether

both
a

the

the

requires

procedural

sentence.

procedural

review

Gall,

552

reasonableness

district

court

and

substantive

U.S.
of

a

properly

appellate

at

51.

In

sentence,

calculated

we
the

defendant’s advisory Guidelines range, considered the 18 U.S.C.
§ 3553(a) (2006) factors, analyzed any arguments presented by
the parties, and sufficiently explained the selected sentence.
Id.

“Regardless of whether the district court imposes an above,

below,

or

within-Guidelines

record

an

individualized

sentence,

assessment

facts of the case before it.”

it

based

must
on

place
the

on

the

particular

United States v. Carter, 564 F.3d

325, 330 (4th Cir. 2009) (internal quotation marks omitted).
The

explanation

must

be

sufficient

to

allow

for

“meaningful

appellate review,” id. (internal quotation marks omitted), such
that the appellate court need “not guess at the district court’s
rationale.”

Id. at 329.

Richardson correctly asserts that the district court
failed to offer any explanation for the sentence it imposed,
thereby rendering the sentence procedurally unreasonable.

Thus,

“we [must] reverse unless . . . the error was harmless.”

United

States v. Lynn, 592 F.3d 572, 576 (4th Cir. 2010).

“[T]he

[G]overnment may avoid reversal . . . if it demonstrates that
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the error did not have a substantial and injurious effect or
influence on the result and we can [] say with . . . fair
assurance[]

.

consideration

.
of

.

that

[the

the

defendant’s]

affected the sentence imposed.”
F.3d

832,

838

(4th

district

Cir.

court’s

arguments

would

explicit
not

have

United States v. Boulware, 604

2010)

omitted); Lynn, 592 F.3d at 585.

(internal

quotation

marks

With this standard in mind, we

conclude that the Government satisfied its burden of proving
that the district court’s procedural error was harmless.

See

United States v. Robinson, 460 F.3d 550, 557 (4th Cir. 2006)
(stating burden).

Finally, although Richardson asserts that his

within-Guidelines

sentence

reject his claim.

See United States v. Allen, 491 F.3d 178, 193

(4th

Cir.

2007)

(“A

Guidelines

range

is

district

court

did

was

substantively

sentence

within

presumptively
not

abuse

its

the

unreasonable,

proper

Sentencing

reasonable.”).
discretion

we

Thus,

in

the

sentencing

Richardson.
In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the record
in this case and have found no meritorious issues for appeal.
We therefore affirm the district court’s judgment.
requires

that

counsel

inform

Richardson,

in

This court

writing,

of

the

right to petition the Supreme Court of the United States for
further
filed,

review.
but

If

counsel

Richardson
believes

requests

that
5

such

that
a

a

petition

petition

would

be
be

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frivolous, then counsel may move in this court for leave to
withdraw from representation.

Counsel’s motion must state that

a copy thereof was served on Richardson.

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

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