Opinion
21-1106
10-06-2021
United States of America Plaintiff- Appellee v. Eric Allen Rhine Defendant-Appellant
UNPUBLISHED
Submitted: September 29, 2021
Appeal from United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Eastern
Before ERICKSON, GRASZ, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.
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. In an Anders brief, Rhine's counsel suggests that the district court 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).
The Honorable John A. Jarvey, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa.
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.