United States v. Ballones

* Pursuant to 5TH CIR. R. 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this opinion should not be published and is not precedent except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 CIR. R. 47.5.4.
United States Court of Appeals
Fifth Circuit
F I L E D
April 11, 2006
Charles R. Fulbruge III
Clerk
IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE FIFTH CIRCUIT
No. 05-50713
Conference Calendar
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,
versus
ROBERTO BALLONES, JR.,
Defendant-Appellant.
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Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Western District of Texas
USDC No. 2:04-CR-230-1
--------------------
Before JONES, Chief Judge, and JOLLY and DAVIS, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM:*
Roberto Ballones, Jr., appeals his guilty-plea conviction
and sentence for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute
more than five kilograms of cocaine. For the first time on
appeal, Ballones argues that he received ineffective assistance
of counsel that made his guilty plea involuntary and his sentence
unreasonable.
Because Ballones did not raise his claims in the district
court, there is no evidentiary record on these issues.
Consequently, the record has not been developed sufficiently for

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No. 05-50713
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us to consider Ballones’s ineffective assistance of counsel
claims on direct appeal. See United States v. Kizzee, 150 F.3d
497, 502-03 (5th Cir. 1998). Accordingly, the judgment of the
district court is affirmed without prejudice to Ballones’s right
to raise his ineffective assistance of counsel claims in a motion
to vacate, set aside, or correct sentence pursuant to 28 U.S.C.
§ 2255. We express no view on the merits of such a motion.
AFFIRMED.

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