United States v. Joshua Lankford ( 2023 )

USCA4 Appeal: 22-4234 Doc: 41 Filed: 07/07/2023 Pg: 1 of 3
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 22-4234
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
JOSHUA I. LANKFORD, a/k/a 20-20, a/k/a 20, a/k/a Light Bright, a/k/a Yellow,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, at Baltimore.
Catherine C. Blake, Senior District Judge. (1:19-cr-00371-CCB-2)
Submitted: May 31, 2023 Decided: July 7, 2023
Before GREGORY, Chief Judge, and KING and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
ON BRIEF: Justin Eisele, SEDDIQ LAW FIRM, Rockville, Maryland, for Appellant.
Erek L. Barron, United States Attorney, Mary W. Setzer, Assistant United States Attorney,
OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Baltimore, Maryland, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
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PER CURIAM:
Joshua I. Lankford pleaded guilty, pursuant to a written plea agreement, to
kidnapping, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1201(a). The district court sentenced Lankford to
the jointly-recommended sentence stated in the plea agreement of 204 months’
imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release, and ordered Lankford to pay
restitution to the victim and a special assessment. See Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(c) (1)(C). On
appeal, Lankford’s counsel filed a brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738(1967), asserting that there are no meritorious grounds for appeal, but questioning whether
the district court erred when it paraphrased a special condition of supervised release when
incorporating it from the presentence report. In response, the Government argues that the
district court complied with the requirement to orally announce or incorporate discretionary
conditions of supervised release this court set forth in United States v. Rogers, 961 F.3d
291 (4th Cir. 2020). Lankford filed a pro se brief raising additional issues. * Finding no
error, we affirm.
Because Lankford did not seek to withdraw his guilty plea, we review the adequacy
of the Fed. R. Crim. P. 11 hearing for plain error. United States v. Williams, 811 F.3d 621,
622 (4th Cir. 2016); see United States v. Harris, 890 F.3d 480, 491 (4th Cir. 2018)
(discussing plain error standard). Our review of the record leads us to conclude that
Lankford entered his guilty plea knowingly and voluntarily, that a factual basis supported
*
We have received the claims raised in Lankford’s pro se brief and conclude that
they lack merit.
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the plea, and that his guilty plea is valid. See United States v. DeFusco, 949 F.2d 114, 116,
119-20 (4th Cir. 1991). We further conclude that the district court properly announced,
through incorporation, the special conditions of supervised release. See Rogers, 961 F.3d
at 299-300.
In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the entire record in this case and have
found no meritorious grounds for appeal. We therefore affirm the district court’s judgment.
This court requires that counsel inform Lankford, in writing, of the right to petition the
Supreme Court of the United States for further review. If Lankford 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 Lankford. 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.
AFFIRMED
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