United States of America v. Eric Allen Rhine

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 21-1106
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United States of America
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee
v.
Eric Allen Rhine
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Southern District of Iowa - Eastern
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Submitted: September 29, 2021
Filed: October 6, 2021
[Unpublished]
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Before ERICKSON, GRASZ, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Eric Rhine pleaded guilty to conspiring to manufacture, distribute, and
possess with intent to distribute heroin. 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 841(b)(1)(A), 846.

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In an Anders brief, Rhine’s counsel suggests that the district court1 should have
imposed a sentence below the mandatory minimum of 120 months under the so-
called safety valve in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f). See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738
(1967).
Upon careful review, we conclude that the district court did not clearly err in
determining that the safety-valve reduction was unavailable on these facts. See
United States v. Soto, 448 F.3d 993, 995–96 (8th Cir. 2006) (reviewing the district
court’s findings on the availability of a safety-valve reduction for clear error). As
the court found, Rhine failed to provide complete and truthful information to
investigators. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)(5); see also United States v. Sanchez-
Gonzalez, 643 F.3d 626, 630 (8th Cir. 2011) (stating that a district court may assess
truthfulness by considering how a defendant’s statements have changed).
We have also independently reviewed the record and conclude that no other
non-frivolous issues exist. See Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 82–83 (1988). We
accordingly affirm the judgment of the district court and grant counsel permission
to withdraw.
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1 The Honorable John A. Jarvey, Chief Judge, United States District Court for
the Southern District of Iowa.

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