UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.

No. 97-4666

STACY COLE JUSTICE, a/k/a Stacey

Cole Justice,

Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court

for the District of South Carolina, at Anderson.

William B. Traxler, Jr., District Judge.

(CR-96-1020-WBT)

Submitted: September 15, 1998

Decided: October 8, 1998

Before HAMILTON and MOTZ, Circuit Judges, and BUTZNER,

Senior Circuit Judge.

_________________________________________________________________

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

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COUNSEL

Benjamin T. Stepp, Assistant Federal Public Defender, Greenville,

South Carolina, for Appellant. E. Jean Howard, OFFICE OF THE

UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greenville, South Carolina, for

Appellee.

_________________________________________________________________
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See

Local Rule 36(c).

_________________________________________________________________

OPINION

PER CURIAM:

Stacy Cole Justice pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a

convicted felon, 18 U.S.C.A. § 922(g)(1) (West Supp. 1998), and

received a 51-month sentence. Justice noted a timely appeal. Counsel

has filed a brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738

(1967), stating that there are no meritorious issues for appeal but challenging Justice's Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 proceeding and the four-level

enhancement of Justice's offense level under U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 2K2.1(b)(5) (1995). Justice has filed a supplemental

brief claiming that the indictment was deficient. Finding no error, we

affirm.

A caller informed Westminster, South Carolina, police that a man

at a residence had a gun and was threatening to kill a number of people. Two officers responded to the call. They found Justice holding

a handgun and struggling with Boyd Abercrombie. Justice pointed the

gun at one of the police officers. Finally, another victim, Tim Compton, disarmed Justice, who was arrested. Justice had a previous conviction for manslaughter. The firearm was not manufactured in South

Carolina.

Counsel first asserts that the district court did not comply with Fed.

R. Crim. P. 11 but offers no specific examples of noncompliance. Our

review of the plea colloquy reveals that the court ascertained that Justice was competent to enter a plea and that he was satisfied with his

attorney's performance. Justice stated that there was a factual basis

for his plea. The district court fully explained--and Justice acknowledged that he understood--the rights that he was waiving and the

penalties that he faced. The court concluded that Justice knowingly

and voluntarily entered his guilty plea. The record discloses full compliance with Rule 11.

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Counsel also contends that Justice should not have received a fourlevel enhancement under USSG § 2K2.1(b)(5) for using or possessing

a firearm in connection with another felony offense. Justice entered

an Alford plea, see North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25 (1970), to

state felony charges lodged against him in connection with the events

giving rise to his federal conviction. At sentencing, Officer Barber

testified that Justice pointed the gun in a threatening manner at Abercrombie. Justice then pointed the gun towards Officer Barber. Justice

denied threatening anyone with the gun although he admitted possessing it. The district court credited Officer Barber's testimony over that

of Justice. In light of Officer Barber's testimony, the district court's

credibility determination was not clearly erroneous, and the enhancement was proper.

In his pro se supplemental brief, Justice contends that the indictment was flawed because it did not allege a sufficient nexus between

the firearm and interstate commerce. He appears to believe that the

district court was without jurisdiction because of this alleged deficiency. We note initially that Justice's guilty plea waives all prior

nonjurisdictional defects. See Tollett v. Henderson, 411 U.S. 258, 267

(1973). In any event, the indictment sufficiently apprised Justice of

the essential elements of the charge against him. Notably, the indictment charged that Justice, a convicted felon, had possessed a firearm

that "had been shipped and transported in interstate commerce."

We have examined the entire record in this case in accordance with

the requirements of Anders and find no meritorious issues for appeal.

The 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 affirm the conviction and sentence. We dispense with oral

argument because the facts and legal contentions are fully presented

in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

AFFIRMED

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