United States v. Christopher Reina ( 2021 )

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 20-4602
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
CHRISTOPHER ALEXANDER REINA,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at
Greensboro. William L. Osteen, Jr., District Judge. (1:14-cr-00252-WO-1)
Submitted: May 27, 2021 Decided: June 11, 2021
Before WILKINSON, HARRIS, and RUSHING, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Harvey A. Carpenter IV, THE LAW OFFICES OF HA (ALEC) CARPENTER IV,
Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellant. Kyle David Pousson, Assistant United States
Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greensboro, North
Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
The district court revoked Christopher Alexander Reina’s term of supervised release
based on his drug use and his commission of new criminal conduct and sentenced him to
20 months’ imprisonment, which is to run consecutively to any sentence imposed for his
North Carolina conviction for felony breaking and entering. The district court allowed him
to self-report by December 28, 2020, for service of his sentence. Reina failed to report and
his whereabouts are unknown. * Reina’s counsel has filed an appellate brief pursuant to
Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967). The Government has moved to dismiss the
appeal based on Reina’s status as a fugitive.
“It has been settled for well over a century that an appellate court may dismiss the
appeal of a defendant who is a fugitive from justice during the pendency of his appeal.”
Ortega-Rodriguez v. United States, 507 U.S. 234, 239 (1993). Reina’s fugitive status
“disentitles [him] to call upon the resources of the Court for determination of his claims.”
Id. at 240 (quoting Molinaro v. New Jersey, 396 U.S. 365, 366 (1970)).
Accordingly, we grant the Government’s motion to dismiss the appeal. 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.
DISMISSED
*
Reina also failed to self-surrender to North Carolina authorities for service of his
state sentence imposed for his breaking and entering conviction.
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