United States of America v. Antonio Cleaves

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 25-2074
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United States of America
lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee
v.
Antonio Cleaves
lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the Southern District of Iowa - Central
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Submitted: December 12, 2025
Filed: December 17, 2025
[Unpublished]
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Before LOKEN, ERICKSON, and GRASZ, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Antonio Cleaves appeals the district court’s1 judgment of conviction after he
pleaded guilty to a firearm offense pursuant to a plea agreement that includes an
1The Honorable Stephen H. Locher, United States District Judge for the
Southern District of Iowa.

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appeal waiver. His counsel has filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738
(1967), challenging the voluntariness of the guilty plea.
Upon careful review, we conclude that Cleaves is precluded from challenging
the voluntariness of his guilty plea in this appeal because he did not move to
withdraw his plea below. See United States v. Foy, 617 F.3d 1029, 1033-34 (8th Cir.
2010) (to extent defendant presents argument to establish his plea was unknowing or
involuntary, such claim would not be cognizable on direct appeal where he failed to
move in district court to withdraw his guilty plea). We have also independently
reviewed the record under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (1988), and have found no
non-frivolous issues for appeal outside the scope of the appeal waiver. Accordingly,
we dismiss the appeal.
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