United States v. Phipps

UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 08-4401
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
CHRISTOPHER ALLEN PHIPPS,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern
District of West Virginia, at Martinsburg. John Preston Bailey,
Chief District Judge. (3:04-cr-00038-JPB-DJJ-1)
Submitted: March 31, 2009 Decided: May 26, 2009
Before MICHAEL and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior
Circuit Judge.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
L. Richard Walker, Assistant Federal Public Defender,
Clarksburg, West Virginia, for Appellant. Sharon L. Potter,
United States Attorney, Paul T. Camilletti, Assistant United
States Attorney, Martinsburg, West Virginia, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM:
Following his conviction for possession of a firearm
by a convicted felon and possession of ammunition by a
prohibited person, Christopher Allen Phipps appeals. He
contends that the district court abused its discretion by
denying his motion to dismiss the unlawful possession of
ammunition charge, which he asserts resulted from prosecutorial
vindictiveness after he asserted his right to a proper grand
jury proceeding. We have reviewed the record and the briefs
filed by the parties and find no abuse of discretion by the
district court. United States v. Fiel, 35 F.3d 997, 1007 (4th
Cir. 1994); see United States v. Armstrong, 517 U.S. 456, 464
(1996). We therefore affirm the denial of the motion to dismiss
for the reasons stated by the district court, and thus affirm
Phipps’ conviction and sentence. See United States v. Phipps,
No. 3:04-cr-00038-JPB-DJJ-1 (N.D.W. Va. Nov. 5, 2004). 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.
AFFIRMED
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