United States of America v. Selvin Garcia-Garcia, also known as Jose Villarreal

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 13-1829
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United States of America
lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellee
v.
Selvin Garcia-Garcia, also known as Jose Villarreal
lllllllllllllllllllll Defendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Little Rock
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Submitted: November 13, 2013
Filed: November 18, 2013
[Unpublished]
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Before LOKEN, BOWMAN, and GRUENDER, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Selvin Garcia-Garcia pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to possess with
intent to distribute more than 500 grams of a methamphetamine mixture and
possession with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of actual methamphetamine

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on premises where a child was present or resided. The District Court 1 imposed a
sentence of 135 months in prison and 5 years of supervised release. On appeal,
Garcia-Garcia’s counsel has filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738
(1967), arguing that Garcia-Garcia’s guilty plea was involuntary because Garcia-
Garcia mistakenly believed that he was eligible for safety-valve relief. Counsel
suggests that the interpreter who helped counsel and Garcia-Garcia discuss the plea
agreement may not have properly communicated its contents to Garcia-Garcia, who
speaks only Spanish. Garcia-Garcia has not filed a pro se supplemental brief.
Garcia-Garcia did not challenge the voluntariness of his plea in the District
Court. His claim is therefore not cognizable in this direct appeal. See United States
v. Murphy, 899 F.2d 714, 716 (8th Cir. 1990) (noting that a claim that defendant’s
guilty plea was involuntary is not cognizable on direct appeal unless first presented
to the district court).
We have reviewed the record independently under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75,
80 (1988), and we have found no nonfrivolous issues. Accordingly, we affirm.
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1The Honorable J. Leon Holmes, United States District Judge for the Eastern
District of Arkansas.
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