United States of America v. Shawn Jerome Vaassen

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 18-1047
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United States of America
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee
v.
Shawn Jerome Vaassen
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Northern District of Iowa - Dubuque
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Submitted: July 30, 2018
Filed: August 2, 2018
(Unpublished)
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Before WOLLMAN, BOWMAN, and ERICKSON, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
After Shawn Vaassen pled guilty to wire fraud and firearms offenses, the
parties stipulated to an upward departure under U.S.S.G. §§ 5K2.0(a)(3) (departure
based on circumstances not otherwise adequately taken into consideration), 5K2.2
(physical injury), and 5K2.6 (weapon possessed or used in commission of offense);
and the government moved for a downward departure under U.S.S.G. § 5K1.1

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(substantial assistance to authorities). After accepting the departures, the district
court sentenced Vassen to a prison term within the resulting Guidelines range. His1
counsel has moved to withdraw, and has filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386
U.S. 738 (1967), arguing that the sentence was substantively unreasonable.
Upon careful review, we conclude that the district court did not impose an
unreasonable sentence. See United States v. Feemster, 572 F.3d 455, 461-62 (8th Cir.
2009) (en banc) (discussing appellate review of sentencing decisions); United States
v. Dalton, 478 F.3d 879, 881 (8th Cir. 2007) (extent of downward departure for
substantial assistance lies within district court’s discretion and is virtually
unreviewable on appeal). Additionally, having independently reviewed the record
pursuant to Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (1988), we find no nonfrivolous issues for
appeal. Accordingly, we grant counsel leave to withdraw, and we affirm.
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The Honorable Linda R. Reade, United States District Judge for the Northern1
District of Iowa.
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