# United States v. Nigual Brown, Jr.

> Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit · March 31, 2014 · 564 F. App'x 5

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/2658958

## Case

- **Full name:** UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Nigual O’Keith BROWN, Jr., Defendant-Appellant
- **Court:** Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- **Decided:** March 31, 2014
- **Citations:** 564 F. App'x 5
- **Precedential status:** Unpublished
- **Opinion:** Opinion
- **Judges:** Motz, Hamilton, Davis
- **Cited by:** 0 later opinions in the Frix Law Library

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## Opinion text

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 13-4799

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

NIGUAL O’KEITH BROWN, JR.,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle
District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. Thomas D. Schroeder,
District Judge. (1:12-cr-00344-TDS-1)

Submitted: March 27, 2014 Decided: March 31, 2014

Before MOTZ, Circuit Judge, and HAMILTON and DAVIS, Senior
Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Christopher A. Beechler, LAW OFFICES OF CHRISTOPHER A. BEECHLER,
Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for Appellant. Terry Michael
Meinecke, Assistant United States Attorney, Greensboro, North
Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:

Pursuant to a plea agreement, Nigual O’Keith Brown,

Jr., pled guilty to two counts of interference with commerce by

robbery. The district court sentenced him to 175 months’

imprisonment. Brown’s counsel filed a brief in accordance with

Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), stating that, in

counsel’s view, there are no meritorious issues for appeal, but

questioning whether the sentence was enhanced based on

uncorroborated statements, and whether Brown was properly

sentenced as a career offender. Although advised of his right

to file a pro se supplemental brief, Brown has not done so.

Finding no reversible error, we affirm.

Brown contends that his sentence was improperly

enhanced based on a statement given to officials by his co-

defendant. However, in ruling on Brown’s objection, the

district court expressly stated that the other charged offenses

would not be considered in imposing Brown’s sentence. We find

nothing in the record to refute this statement.

Brown also challenges the determination that he

qualified for the career offender enhancement at sentencing. We

conclude that the district court correctly found that Brown had

two prior felony convictions for crimes of violence, and

therefore properly applied this enhancement. U.S. Sentencing

2
Guidelines Manual § 4B1.1 (2012); see United States v. Bowden,

975 F.2d 1080, 1085 (4th Cir. 1992).

We have reviewed Brown’s sentence and conclude that

the sentence imposed was reasonable. See Gall v. United States,

552 U.S. 38, 51 (2007); United States v. Llamas, 599 F.3d 381,

387 (4th Cir. 2010). The district court followed the necessary

procedural steps in sentencing Brown, appropriately treated the

Sentencing Guidelines as advisory, properly calculated and

considered the applicable Guidelines range, and weighed the

relevant 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) (2012) factors in light of Brown’s

individual characteristics and history. We conclude that the

district court did not abuse its discretion in imposing the

chosen sentence. See Gall, 552 U.S. at 41; United States v.

Allen, 491 F.3d 178, 193 (4th Cir. 2007) (applying appellate

presumption of reasonableness to within-Guidelines sentence).

In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the entire

record in this case and have found no meritorious issues for

appeal. This court requires that counsel inform Brown, in

writing, of the right to petition the Supreme Court of the

United States for further review. If Brown 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 Brown. We dispense with

3
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

4

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/cases/2658958. Public record. Not legal advice.
