Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca8-09-03459/USCOURTS-ca8-09-03459-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Crystal Davis
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

1

The Honorable Linda R. Reade, Chief Judge, United States District Court for

the Northern District of Iowa.

United States Court of Appeals

FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT

___________

No. 09-3459

___________

United States of America, *

*

Appellee, * Appeal from the United States

* District Court for the

v. * Northern District of Iowa.

*

Crystal Davis, also known as Nay Nay, * [UNPUBLISHED]

*

Appellant. *

___________

Submitted: February 17, 2010

Filed: March 2, 2010

___________

Before BYE, RILEY, and SHEPHERD, Circuit Judges.

___________

PER CURIAM.

Crystal Davis pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute 50 grams or more of a

mixture or substance containing cocaine base after having been previously convicted

of a felony drug offense, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A), 846,

and 851. After granting Davis safety-valve relief from the 20-year mandatory

minimum sentence, the district court1

 also granted the government’s motion under

U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1 for a substantial-assistance departure and sentenced Davis to 81

months in prison and 5 years of supervised release. On appeal, counsel has moved to

Appellate Case: 09-3459 Page: 1 Date Filed: 03/02/2010 Entry ID: 3639798
-2-

withdraw and has filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967),

arguing that the sentence is unreasonable. We affirm, and we grant counsel’s motion

to withdraw.

The district court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing Davis. After

calculating the advisory Guidelines range, the court granted the government’s

departure motion and then entertained arguments for a variance and discussed relevant

factors under 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) in declining to vary below a sentence of 81 months

in prison. See United States v. Berni, 439 F.3d 990, 992-93 (8th Cir. 2006) (per

curiam) (reviewing sentence involving § 5K1.1 downward departure for

reasonableness using abuse-of-discretion standard; sentence was reasonable where

court correctly calculated Guidelines range, permissibly applied § 5K1.1 departure,

and considered resulting adjusted range and § 3553(a) factors).

Finally, having reviewed the record under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (1988),

we have found no nonfrivolous issues. Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s

judgment, and we grant counsel leave to withdraw.

______________________________

Appellate Case: 09-3459 Page: 2 Date Filed: 03/02/2010 Entry ID: 3639798