United States v. Heron Velez-Paz

PER CURIAM. After Heron Velez-Paz pleaded guilty to illegal reentry after having been deported following an aggravated-felony conviction, in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a), (b)(2), the district court 1 sentenced him within the advisory Guidelines range to 46 months in prison and 2 years of supervised release. On appeal, his counsel has filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493 (1967). For the reasons discussed below, we affirm. Counsel argues that Velez-Paz’s conviction is not supported by sufficient evidence. We conclude that this argument is foreclosed by Velez-Paz’s unconditional guilty plea. See United States v. Jennings, 12 F.3d 836, 839 (8th Cir.1994). Having reviewed the record independently under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 80, 109 S.Ct. 346, 102 L.Ed.2d 300 (1988), we find no nonfrivolous issues. Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s judgment. Footnotes [1] The Honorable Robert W. Pratt, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.