Opinion
21-2062
10-29-2021
United States of America Plaintiff - Appellee v. Aaron Meggs Defendant-Appellant
Unpublished
Submitted: October 19, 2021
Appeal from United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas - Fayetteville
Before COLLOTON, SHEPHERD, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.
PER CURIAM.
Aaron Meggs pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm. See 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). Applying the Armed Career Criminal Act, the district court gave him a 180-month prison sentence. See 18 U.S.C. § 924(e). In an Anders brief, counsel suggests that Meggs does not qualify as an armed career criminal and that, in any event, the district court lacked jurisdiction. See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967).
The Honorable Timothy L. Brooks, United States District Judge for the Western District of Arkansas.
On the first issue, we conclude that the district court did not plainly err in concluding otherwise, based on Meggs's three prior serious drug offenses. See United States v. Boman, 873 F.3d 1035, 1040 (8th Cir. 2017) (reviewing an ACCA determination for plain error because the defendant did not object); Shular v. United States, 140 S.Ct. 779, 787 (2020) (explaining that a "serious drug offense" involves "manufacturing, distributing, or possessing with intent to manufacture or distribute, a controlled substance"). And on the second, the Arkansas Sovereignty Act did not deprive the court of jurisdiction. See 18 U.S.C. § 3231 (giving district courts original jurisdiction over all federal offenses); see also United States v. Schostag, 895 F.3d 1025, 1028 (8th Cir. 2018) (stating that federal law governs in the event of a conflict with state law).
Finally, we have 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.