US v. Ikedo Field

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 5:13-cr-00111-H-1 Copies to all parties and the district court/agency. [999480717].. [14-4356]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 14-4356

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
IKEDO FIELDS,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern
District of North Carolina, at Raleigh.
Malcolm J. Howard,
Senior District Judge. (5:13-cr-00111-H-1)

Submitted:

November 20, 2014

Decided:

November 24, 2014

Before KING and KEENAN, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Christopher F. Cowan, Columbus, Ohio, for Appellant.
Jennifer
P. May-Parker, Assistant United States Attorney, Raleigh, North
Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Ikedo Fields pled guilty pursuant to a plea agreement
to one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent
to distribute cocaine, cocaine base, and heroin, in violation of
21 U.S.C. §§ 841(b)(1)(B), 846 (2012), and was sentenced to 144
months in prison.

Counsel has filed a brief pursuant to Anders

v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), conceding there are no nonfrivolous issues for appeal, but asking us to review whether
Fields’:

(1)

reasonable.

guilty

plea

is

valid;

and

(2)

sentence

is

The Government has declined to file a responsive

brief and Fields has not filed a pro se supplemental brief,
despite receiving notice of his right to do so.

Finding no

error, we affirm.
Because Fields did not move in the district court to
withdraw his guilty plea, the adequacy of the Fed. R. Crim. P.
11

hearing

is

reviewed

for

plain

error.

United

Martinez, 277 F.3d 517, 524–27 (4th Cir. 2002).
plain error, a defendant must show:

States

v.

To demonstrate

(1) there was error; (2)

the error was plain; and (3) the error affected his substantial
rights.

See United States v. McLaurin, 764 F.3d 372, 388 (4th

Cir. 2014).

In the guilty plea context, a defendant satisfies

this burden by showing a reasonable probability that he would
not

have

omissions.

pled

guilty

but

for

the

district

court’s

Rule

11

United States v. Massenburg, 564 F.3d 337, 343 (4th
2

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Cir. 2009). “Even when this burden is met, we have discretion
whether to recognize the error, and should not do so unless the
error

seriously

affects

the

fairness,

reputation of judicial proceedings.”

integrity

or

public

United States v. Aidoo,

670 F.3d 600, 611 (4th Cir. 2012) (internal quotation marks and
citation omitted).
Our review of Fields’ Rule 11 hearing transcript leads
us to conclude that the district court substantially complied
with the mandates of Rule 11 in accepting Fields’ guilty plea
and that any omissions by the district court did not affect
Fields’ substantial rights.

Critically, the transcript reveals

that the district court ensured that the plea was supported by
an independent basis in fact, and that Fields entered the plea
knowingly

and

consequences.

voluntarily

with

an

understanding

of

the

United States v. DeFusco, 949 F.2d 114, 116, 120

(4th Cir. 1991).

Accordingly, we discern no plain error in the

district court’s acceptance of Fields’ guilty plea.
We also discern no reversible error in the district
court’s decision to impose a 144-month sentence.

We review any

criminal

outside,

sentence,

“whether

inside,

just

or

significantly outside the Guidelines range,” for reasonableness,
“under

a

deferential

abuse-of-discretion

standard.”

United

States v. King, 673 F.3d 274, 283 (4th Cir. 2012); see Gall v.
United States, 552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007).
3

The first step in this

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review requires us to ensure that the district court committed
no

significant

procedural

error.

King,

673

F.3d

at

283.

Procedural errors include “failing to calculate (or improperly
calculating) the Guidelines range, treating the Guidelines as
mandatory,
[(2012)]

failing
factors,

to

consider

selecting

the

a

[18

U.S.C.]

sentence

based

§ 3553(a)

on

clearly

erroneous facts, or failing to adequately explain the chosen
sentence—including

an

explanation

for

any

Guidelines range.”

deviation

from

the

Gall, 552 U.S. at 51.

“[I]f a party repeats on appeal a claim of procedural
sentencing error . . . [that] it has made before the district
court,

will

reverse

unless we can conclude “that the error was harmless.”

United

States

we

v.

instance,

review

for

Lynn,
if

592

“an

abuse

F.3d

of

572,

aggrieved

discretion”

576

party

(4th

and

Cir.

2010).

sufficiently

For

alerts

the

district court of its responsibility to render an individualized
explanation” by drawing arguments from § 3553 “for a sentence
different

than

the

one

ultimately

sufficiently “preserves its claim.”
review unpreserved
error.

non-structural

Id. at 576-77.

imposed,”

Id. at 578.

sentencing

the

party

However, we

errors

for

plain

And in the sentencing context, “the

third prong of the plain-error standard is satisfied if there is
a

non-speculative

district

court

basis

would

in

have

the

record

imposed
4

a

to

conclude

that

the

lower

sentence

upon

the

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defendant but for the error.”

See McLaurin, 764 F.3d at 388

(internal quotation marks and citation omitted).
If, and only if, we find the sentence procedurally
reasonable can we consider the substantive reasonableness of the
sentence imposed.

See United States v. Carter, 564 F.3d 325,

328 (4th Cir. 2009).
that

falls

outside

When a district court imposes a sentence
of

the

applicable

Guidelines

range,

“we

consider whether the sentencing court acted reasonably both with
respect

to

its

decision

respect

to

the

extent

range.”

of

impose

the

such

a

divergence

sentence

from

the

and

with

sentencing

United States v. Hernandez–Villanueva, 473 F.3d 118,

123 (4th Cir. 2007).
due

to

deference

§ 3553(a)

to

factors,

variance.”

In conducting this review, we “must give

the
on

district
a

whole,

court’s
justify

decision
the

that

extent

of

the
the

Gall, 552 U.S. at 51.
We have thoroughly reviewed the record and conclude

that

the

sentence

reasonable.

is

both

procedurally

We find no error in:

and

substantively

(1) the district court’s

calculation of Fields’ Guidelines range, including the career
offender designation; (2) the opportunities the court provided
Fields

and

district

his

counsel

court’s

to

speak

explanation

of

in

mitigation;

the

sentence

or

(3)

the

imposed

by

reference to Fields’ Guidelines range and the relevant § 3553(a)
factors.

See United States v. Chandia, 675 F.3d 329, 341–42
5

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(4th Cir. 2012) (recognizing that a sentencing court is “not
required to provide a lengthy explanation or robotically tick
through § 3553(a)’s every subsection, particularly when imposing
a

below-Guidelines

alteration omitted).

sentence”)

(internal

quotation

marks

and

Finally, Fields’ below-Guidelines sentence

is presumptively substantively reasonable, see United States v.
Susi, 674 F.3d 278, 289 (4th Cir. 2012), and we discern no basis
in the record to overcome this presumption.
We have examined the entire record in accordance with
our

obligations

under

issues for appeal.
judgment.
writing,

Anders

and

have

found

no

meritorious

Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s

This court requires that counsel inform Fields, in
of

the

right

to

petition

United States for further review.

the

Supreme

Court

of

the

If Fields 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 representation.

Counsel’s motion must

state that a copy thereof was served on Fields.

We dispense

with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are
adequately

presented

in

the

materials

before

this

court

and

argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

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