United States of America v. Thomas W. Pitts

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 25-3364
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United States of America
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee
v.
Thomas W. Pitts
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Western District of Missouri - Kansas City
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Submitted: July 14, 2026
Filed: July 17, 2026
[Unpublished]
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Before ERICKSON, GRASZ, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Thomas Pitts appeals after he pled guilty to a drug conspiracy offense and the
district court1 sentenced him to 151 months in prison. His counsel has moved for
1The Honorable Stephen R. Bough, United States District Judge for the
Western District of Missouri.

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leave to withdraw and has filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738
(1967), questioning whether the district court sufficiently complied with Federal Rule
of Criminal Procedure 11 such that Pitts’s guilty plea was not knowing and voluntary.
Pitts has filed a pro se brief reiterating counsel’s arguments.
After careful review, we conclude that Pitts’s plea was knowing and voluntary.
See United States v. Foy, 617 F.3d 1029, 1033-34 (8th Cir. 2010) (standard of
review). The district court complied with Rule 11 and we discern no error, plain or
otherwise. See id. (holding that to show plain error, defendant must show not only
error in failure to follow Rule 11 but also reasonable probability that but for error, he
would not have entered a guilty plea). Further, having independently reviewed the
record under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (1988), we find no nonfrivolous issues for
appeal. Accordingly, we grant counsel leave to withdraw and affirm.
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