United States v. Vazquez-Moreno , 147 F. App'x 328 ( 2005 )

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 04-4859
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
versus
JOSE MANUEL VAZQUEZ-MORENO, a/k/a Marco
Antonio Campuzano-Montes, a/k/a Flaco, a/k/a
Guillermo Antonio Hernandez, a/k/a Manny,
a/k/a Meme,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western
District of North Carolina, at Statesville. Richard L. Voorhees,
District Judge. (CR-03-4)
Submitted: June 15, 2005 Decided: July 27, 2005
Before TRAXLER, KING, and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
M. Timothy Porterfield, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellant.
Jennifer Marie Hoefling, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY,
Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:
Jose Manuel Vazquez-Moreno appeals from his conviction
and 120-month sentence entered after his guilty plea to conspiracy
to possess with intent to distribute cocaine and cocaine base. On
appeal, Vazquez-Moreno’s attorney has filed a brief in accordance
with Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), finding no
meritorious issues for appeal, but questioning whether there was
ineffective assistance of counsel. Vazquez-Moreno was informed of
his right to file a supplemental pro se brief, but he has not done
so.
An allegation of ineffective assistance should not
proceed on direct appeal unless it appears conclusively from the
record that counsel’s performance was ineffective. United
States v. Richardson, 195 F.3d 192, 198 (4th Cir. 1999). Here, the
record reveals quite competent representation, as Vazquez-Moreno
received the statutory mandatory minimum sentence, when prior to
his plea, he was a facing a possible sentence over twice as long.
While the record is inadequate to show ineffective assistance, if
Vazquez-Moreno possesses other evidence on this issue, he is free
to assert this claim in a 28 U.S.C. § 2255 (2000) motion.
In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the entire
record in this case, including Vazquez-Moreno’s waiver of appeal
rights in his plea agreement and at his Fed. R. Crim. P. 11
hearing, and we have found no meritorious issues for appeal. We
- 2 -
therefore affirm Vazquez-Moreno’s conviction and sentence. This
court requires that counsel inform his client, in writing, of his
right to petition the Supreme Court of the United States for
further review. If the client 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 the client. 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
- 3 -