US v. Demario Gladden

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 1:14-cr-00402-WO-1. Copies to all parties and the district court. [999751661]. [15-4430]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 15-4430

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
DEMARIO CORTEZ GLADDEN,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle
District of North Carolina, at Greensboro.
William L. Osteen,
Jr., Chief District Judge. (1:14-cr-00402-WO-1)

Submitted:

January 28, 2016

Decided:

February 9, 2016

Before SHEDD, DUNCAN, and KEENAN, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Louis C. Allen, Federal Public Defender, John A. Duberstein,
Assistant Federal Public Defender, Greensboro, North Carolina, for
Appellant.
Robert Albert Jamison Lang, Assistant United States
Attorney, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Demario Cortez Gladden appeals his conviction and sentence of
84 months of imprisonment for brandishing a firearm in relation to
a

crime

of

violence,

in

violation

§§ 2, 924(c)(1)(A)(ii) (2012).

of

18

U.S.C.

Appellate counsel has filed a

brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967),
concluding

that

there

are

no

meritorious

issues

for

appeal.

Gladden has filed a pro se supplemental brief arguing that the
evidence was insufficient to convict him and that law enforcement
officials committed entrapment.

We affirm.

A guilty plea is valid where the defendant voluntarily,
knowingly,

and

intelligently

pleads

guilty

“with

sufficient

awareness of the relevant circumstances and likely consequences.”
United

States

v.

Fisher,

711

F.3d

(internal quotation marks omitted).

460,

464

(4th

Cir.

2013)

Before accepting a guilty

plea, a district court must ensure that the plea is knowing,
voluntary, and supported by an independent factual basis.

Fed. R.

Crim. P. 11(b); United States v. DeFusco, 949 F.2d 114, 116 (4th
Cir. 1991).
Because Gladden neither raised an objection during the Rule
11 proceeding nor moved to withdraw his guilty plea in the district
court, we review his Rule 11 proceeding for plain error.
States v. Sanya, 774 F.3d 812, 815 (4th Cir. 2014).

United

Our review of

the record reveals that the district court fully complied with
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11

hearing.

in

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accepting

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Gladden’s

guilty

plea

after

a

thorough

Accordingly, we conclude that his plea was knowing and

voluntary, see Fisher, 711 F.3d at 464, and thus “final and
binding,” see United States v. Lambey, 974 F.2d 1389, 1394 (4th
Cir. 1992) (en banc).
We review Gladden’s sentence for reasonableness “under a
deferential

abuse-of-discretion

standard.”

United

States

v.

McCoy, 804 F.3d 349, 351 (4th Cir. 2015) (quoting Gall v. United
States, 552 U.S. 38, 41 (2007)).
consideration

of

both

the

This review entails appellate
procedural

reasonableness of the sentence.

and

Gall, 552 U.S. at 51.

substantive
We presume

that a sentence imposed within the properly calculated Sentencing
Guidelines range is reasonable.

United States v. Mendoza-Mendoza,

597 F.3d 212, 217 (4th Cir. 2010).
We have reviewed the record and conclude that the court
properly calculated the Guidelines range, treated the Guidelines
as advisory rather than mandatory, gave the parties an opportunity
to argue for an appropriate sentence, considered the 18 U.S.C.
§ 3353(a)

factors,

selected

a

sentence

not

based

on

clearly

erroneous facts, and sufficiently explained the chosen sentence.
Furthermore,

Gladden’s

sentence

of

84

months

was

exactly

as

recommended by the Guidelines and was the statutory mandatory
minimum sentence.

Therefore, we conclude that Gladden’s sentence

is reasonable.
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Gladden’s guilty plea forecloses his claims of insufficient
evidence and entrapment.

See United States v. Willis, 992 F.2d

489, 490 (4th Cir. 1993) (“[A] guilty plea constitutes a waiver of
all nonjurisdictional defects, including the right to contest the
factual

merits

of

the

charges.”

(internal

quotation

marks

omitted)).
In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the entire record
in this case and have found no meritorious issues for appeal.
therefore affirm Gladden’s conviction and sentence.

We

This court

requires that counsel inform Gladden, in writing, of the right to
petition the Supreme Court of the United States for further review.
If Gladden 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 Gladden.
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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