United States v. Jones ( 2022 )

Case: 21-60883 Document: 00516378291 Page: 1 Date Filed: 06/30/2022
United States Court of Appeals
for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
FILED
June 30, 2022
No. 21-60883 Lyle W. Cayce
Summary Calendar Clerk
United States of America,
Plaintiff—Appellee,
versus
Melvin Lionell Jones, Jr.,
Defendant—Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Southern District of Mississippi
USDC No. 1:20-CR-91-4
Before Jolly, Willett, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges.
Per Curiam:*
Melvin Lionell Jones, Jr., appeals the 168-month sentence imposed
following his guilty plea conviction for conspiracy to possess with intent to
distribute cocaine. He argues that the sentence was substantively
unreasonable because the district court gave undue weight to the career
*
Pursuant to 5th Circuit Rule 47.5, the court has determined that this
opinion should not be published and is not precedent except under the limited
circumstances set forth in 5th Circuit Rule 47.5.4.
Case: 21-60883 Document: 00516378291 Page: 2 Date Filed: 06/30/2022
No. 21-60883
offender guideline and did not adequately account for other relevant
sentencing factors.
The Government moves to dismiss the appeal or, alternatively, for
summary affirmance based on the appeal waiver in Jones’s written plea
agreement. Jones’s challenge to his waiver as invalid or unenforceable under
the circumstances lacks merit, as Jones was specifically admonished about his
right to appeal and that he was giving up that right as part of his plea, and the
waiver broadly precludes any challenge to Jones’s sentence. See United States
v. Bond, 414 F.3d 542, 544 (5th Cir. 2005). Accordingly, the Government’s
motion to dismiss the appeal is GRANTED. Its alternative motion for
summary affirmance is DENIED. The appeal is DISMISSED.
2