UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 18-4301 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff – Appellee, v. FRANCISCO PEREZ-ARELLANO, a/k/a Francisco Ugarte, Defendant – Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. William L. Osteen, Jr., District Judge. (1:17-cr-00357-WO) Submitted: November 9, 2018 Decided: December 17, 2018 Before WILKINSON and RICHARDSON, Circuit Judges, and SHEDD, Senior Circuit Judge. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. Aaron B. Wellman, COALTER LAW P.L.L.C., Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellant. Matthew G.T. Martin, United States Attorney, Lisa B. Boggs, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greensboro, North Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM: Francisco Perez-Arellano, a Mexican native and citizen, pled guilty to illegally reentering the country after previously being removed. See 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a). Varying upward from the advisory sentencing range of 30-37 months, the district court sentenced Perez-Arellano to a 48-month imprisonment term. Perez-Arellano now appeals his conviction and sentence. We affirm. 1 In 2002, United States Customs Inspectors in Texas detained Perez-Arellano as he attempted to smuggle 1.2 kilos of cocaine into the country. Perez-Arellano subsequently was convicted for importing cocaine and sentenced to 33 months. In August 2004, during his incarceration, Perez-Arellano was served with an INS Form I-862 “Notice to Appear” (“NTA”) noting his cocaine conviction as the basis for his removal and listing a hearing date “to be set.” See J.A. 55. Perez-Arellano signed the form on August 6, 2004, acknowledging its receipt, requesting a prompt hearing, and waiving his right to have a 10-day period before appearing before an immigration judge. That same day, Perez-Arellano also signed a “Stipulated Request for Removal Order and Waiver of Hearing.” See J.A. 57. By signing this document, Perez-Arellano requested that his deportation proceedings “be conducted completely on a written record, without a hearing”; admitted the allegations in the NTA and conceded that he was 1 Perez-Arellano’s counsel appealed the sentence pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), conceding that the sentence is procedurally and substantively reasonable. In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the sentencing record and find no meritorious issues for appeal. We will therefore affirm the sentence and limit the remainder of our discussion to Perez-Arellano’s appeal of his conviction. 2 deportable as charged; agreed that he was ineligible for, or otherwise waived his right to apply for, any type of relief from deportation; agreed to accept a written order for his removal as a final disposition of the removal proceedings and waived his right to appeal that order; and waived his right to notice of, and right to be present at, a hearing in the event one was scheduled. J.A. 57-58. Perez-Arellano also acknowledged that he fully understood the consequences of the Stipulation and was submitting it “voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently.” J.A. 58. Several days later, an immigration judge ordered Perez-Arellano’s removal to Mexico. In March 2013, ICE agents encountered Perez-Arellano ...
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