US v. Derrick Abram

Filing

UNPUBLISHED PER CURIAM OPINION filed. Originating case number: 3:14-cr-00172-RJC-1. Copies to all parties and the district court. [999812190].. [15-4728]

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UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 15-4728

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff – Appellee,
v.
DERRICK KELVIN ABRAMS, a/k/a Willie Herman Newsome,
Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of North Carolina, at Charlotte.
Robert J. Conrad,
Jr., District Judge. (3:14-cr-00172-RJC-1)

Submitted:

May 2, 2016

Decided:

May 4, 2016

Before GREGORY, DUNCAN, and WYNN, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Chiege O. Kalu Okwara, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellant.
Amy Elizabeth Ray, Assistant United States Attorney, Asheville,
North Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:
Derrick
written

Kelvin

plea

Abrams

agreement

pled

to

guilty

passport

in

accordance

fraud,

18

U.S.C.

with

a

§ 1542

(2012) (Count One), and aggravated identity theft, 18 U.S.C.
§ 1028A(a)(1) (2012) (Count Three).
months

on

Count

Count Three.
brief

in

(1967),

One

and

with

questioning

concluding

twenty-four

Abrams now appeals.

accordance

that

the

there

He was sentenced to zero

Anders

v.

months,

no

on

His attorney has filed a
California,

reasonableness

are

consecutive,

of

meritorious

the

386

U.S.

738

sentence,

but

issues

for

appeal.

Abrams was advised of the right to file a pro se brief but has
not filed such a brief.
After

careful

We affirm.

review,

knowing and voluntary.

we

hold

that

the

guilty

plea

was

Abrams stated at the Fed. R. Crim. P. 11

hearing that he was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
He

expressed

satisfaction

factual

basis

for

Abrams

admitted

the
his

with

plea

was

guilt.

his

attorney’s

presented
Finally,

to
the

services.
the

court,

district

A
and

court

substantially complied with the requirements of Rule 11.
With respect to sentencing, the court properly calculated
the Guidelines range, considered the 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) (2012)
factors

and

the

arguments

of

the

parties,

and

provided

a

sufficiently individualized assessment based on the facts of the
case.

We

therefore

conclude

that
2

the

statutorily-required

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24-month
given

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sentence

the

is

totality

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procedurally
of

the

substantively reasonable.

reasonable.

circumstances,

Additionally,

the

sentence

is

See Gall v. United States, 552 U.S.

38, 51 (2007); United States v. Carter, 564 F.3d 325, 330 (4th
Cir. 2009).
Pursuant to Anders, we have reviewed the entire record and
have found no meritorious issues for appeal.
affirm the district court’s judgment.

Accordingly, we

This court requires that

counsel inform Abrams, in writing, of the right to petition the
Supreme

Court

of

the

United

States

for

further

review.

If

Abrams 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
Abrams.
legal
before

We dispense with oral argument because the facts and

contentions
this

court

are

adequately

and

argument

presented

would

not

in
aid

the
the

materials
decisional

process.
AFFIRMED

3