Opinion
21-4305
03-30-2022
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. ANTHONY SELLERS, Defendant-Appellant.
Parks N. Small, Federal Public Defender, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellant. M. Rhett DeHart, Acting United States Attorney, Leesa Washington, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greenville, South Carolina, for Appellee.
UNPUBLISHED
Submitted: January 24, 2022
Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Orangeburg. Margaret B. Seymour, Senior District Judge. (5:08-cr-00944-MBS-21)
ON BRIEF:
Parks N. Small, Federal Public Defender, OFFICE OF THE FEDERAL PUBLIC DEFENDER, Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellant.
M. Rhett DeHart, Acting United States Attorney, Leesa Washington, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greenville, South Carolina, for Appellee.
Before THACKER and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges, and SHEDD, Senior Circuit Judge.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
PER CURIAM.
Anthony Sellers appeals from the district court's amended order and opinion granting relief and reducing his sentence pursuant to the First Step Act of 2018.[*] In his opening brief, Sellers argued that the district court failed to adequately explain its reasons for imposing what Sellers characterized as an upward variant sentence on Count 41, aiding and abetting in the possession with intent to distribute a quantity of cocaine within 1000 feet of a school, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(C), 860(a), and 18 U.S.C. § 2. Sellers abandons this claim in his reply brief and argues instead that the district court erred by failing to explain its reasons for not imposing a downward variant sentence on Count 41. Because he failed to raise this issue in his opening brief, it is waived. See Grayson O Co. v. Agadir Int'l LLC, 856 F.3d 307, 316 (4th Cir. 2017) (recognizing that issues raised for first time in reply brief are waived). Accordingly, we affirm the district court's order. United States v. Sellers, No. 5:08-cr-00944-MBS-21 (D.S.C. June 22, 2021). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before this court and argument would not aid the decisional process.
AFFIRMED.
[*] Sellers filed a notice of appeal from the district court's initial opinion and order granting partial relief under the First Step Act. Because the court subsequently granted Sellers' motion for reconsideration, the initial order is no longer in effect.