United States v. Donald Beck , 589 F. App'x 147 ( 2015 )

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 14-4017
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
DONALD RAY BECK,
Defendant - Appellant.
No. 14-4023
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
ANGELA MICHELLE BECK,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeals from the United States District Court for the Middle
District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. Catherine C. Eagles,
District Judge. (1:13-cr-00186-CCE-5; 1:13-cr-00186-CCE-6)
Submitted: November 10, 2014 Decided: January 6, 2015
Before SHEDD, WYNN, and DIAZ, Circuit Judges.
Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
James B. Craven III, Durham, North Carolina; Helen Parsonage,
ELLIOT MORGAN PARSONAGE, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for
Appellants. Ripley Rand, United States Attorney, Graham T.
Green, Assistant United States Attorney, Winston-Salem, North
Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
2
PER CURIAM:
In these consolidated appeals, Donald Ray Beck appeals
his 195-month sentence and Angela Michelle Beck appeals her
189-month sentence imposed following their guilty pleas pursuant
to plea agreements to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more
of methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(b)(1)(A),
846 (2012), and possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug
trafficking crime, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2,
924(c)(1)(A)(i) (2012). The Government argues that the Becks’
appeals are foreclosed by the waiver of appeal rights in their
plea agreements. We dismiss the appeals.
A criminal defendant may waive the right to appeal if
that waiver is knowing and intelligent. United States v.
Poindexter, 492 F.3d 263, 270 (4th Cir. 2007). Generally, if
the district court fully questions a defendant regarding the
waiver of his right to appeal during a plea colloquy performed
in accordance with Fed. R. Crim. P. 11, the waiver is both valid
and enforceable. United States v. Johnson, 410 F.3d 137, 151
(4th Cir. 2005). Whether a defendant validly waived his right
to appeal is a question of law we review de novo.
United States v. Blick, 408 F.3d 162, 168 (4th Cir. 2005).
Where the Government seeks to enforce an appeal waiver and there
is no claim that it breached its obligations under the plea
agreement, we will enforce the waiver if the record establishes
3
that (1) the defendant knowingly and intelligently agreed to
waive the right to appeal; and (2) the issue being appealed is
within the scope of the waiver. Id. at 168 & n.5.
Upon review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we
conclude that the Becks knowingly and voluntarily waived the
right to appeal their sentences and that their appellate
challenges fall squarely within the compasses of their waivers
of appellate rights. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeals.
We dispense with 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.
DISMISSED
4