United States of America v. Lamel Brandon

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 22-3353
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United States of America
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee
v.
Lamel Brandon
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Northern District of Iowa - Cedar Rapids
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Submitted: September 11, 2023
Filed: September 14, 2023
[Unpublished]
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Before GRUENDER, BENTON, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Lamel Brandon appeals after he pleaded guilty to a firearm offense and the
district court1 imposed a within-Guidelines sentence. His counsel has moved for
1The Honorable C.J. Williams, United States District Judge for the Northern
District of Iowa.

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leave to withdraw, and has filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738
(1967), challenging the sentence as substantively unreasonable. In a pro se brief,
Brandon also challenges the sentence, contending that he possessed the firearm in
connection with defending his son from an attack. He also raises claims of
prosecutorial misconduct, vindictive prosecution, and selective prosecution.
After careful review, we conclude that the district court did not abuse its
discretion in sentencing Brandon. See United States v. Feemster, 572 F.3d 455, 461-
62 (8th Cir. 2009) (en banc) (standard of review); see also United States v. Callaway,
762 F.3d 754, 760 (8th Cir. 2014) (stating that on appeal, a within-Guidelines-range
sentence is presumed reasonable). We also conclude that the record does not support
Brandon’s remaining pro se claims. See United States v. Hunter, 770 F.3d 740, 743
(8th Cir. 2014); United States v. Williams, 793 F.3d 957, 963 (8th Cir. 2015); Flowers
v. City of Minneapolis, 558 F.3d 794, 798 (8th Cir. 2009).
We have independently reviewed the record under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S.
75 (1988), and have found no non-frivolous issues for appeal. Accordingly, we
affirm the judgment, and we grant counsel leave to withdraw.
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