Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca4-07-04186/USCOURTS-ca4-07-04186-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Andre Maurice Ellerbee
Appellant
United States of America
Appellee

Document Text:

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 07-4186

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

versus

ANDRE MAURICE ELLERBEE,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern

District of North Carolina, at Raleigh. W. Earl Britt, Senior

District Judge. (7:05-cr-00086-BR)

Submitted: January 16, 2008 Decided: February 7, 2008

Before WILKINSON, NIEMEYER, and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Thomas P. McNamara, Federal Public Defender, G. Alan DuBois,

Assistant Federal Public Defender, Raleigh, North Carolina, for

Appellant. George E. B. Holding, United States Attorney, Anne M.

Hayes, Jennifer P. May-Parker, Assistant United States Attorneys,

Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

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PER CURIAM:

Andre Maurice Ellerbee pled guilty, pursuant to a written

plea agreement, to one count of possession of a firearm after

having been convicted of a felony, in violation of 18 U.S.C.

§ 922(g) (2000), and was sentenced to 120 months imprisonment. On

appeal, Ellerbee asserts that the district court erred in

calculating his base offense level by cross-referencing the drug

trafficking guideline. The Government asserts that Ellerbee

validly waived the right to appeal his sentence in the plea

agreement. We dismiss the appeal.

A defendant may waive the right to appeal if that waiver

is knowing and intelligent. United States v. Amaya-Portillo, 423

F.3d 427, 430 (4th Cir. 2005). Generally, if the district court

fully questions a defendant regarding the waiver of his right to

appeal during the Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 colloquy, the waiver is both

valid and enforceable. United States v. Johnson, 410 F.3d 137, 151

(4th Cir. 2005); United States v. Wessells, 936 F.2d 165, 167-68

(4th Cir. 1991). The question of whether a defendant validly

waived his right to appeal is a question of law that we review de

novo. United States v. Blick, 408 F.3d 162, 168 (4th Cir. 2005).

Our review of the record leads us to conclude that

Ellerbee knowingly and voluntarily waived the right to appeal his

sentence. Moreover, the sentencing issue raised on appeal falls

within the scope of the waiver. Accordingly, we dismiss Ellerbee’s

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appeal. 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.

DISMISSED

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