UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 99-6555

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, versus

KENT L. JOHNSON, Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Florence. Cameron McGowan Currie, District Judge. (CR-96-721, CA-98-1701)

Submitted: July 8, 1999 Decided: July 15, 1999

Before NIEMEYER, WILLIAMS, and KING, Circuit Judges.

Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Kent L. Johnson, Appellant Pro Se. Alfred William Walker Bethea, Assistant United States Attorney, Florence, South Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.

See Local Rule 36(c).

PER CURIAM: Kent Johnson appeals from the district court’s order denying relief on his motion filed under 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 (West Supp. 1999). Johnson claimed that his attorney was ineffective for failing to inform him of the safety valve provision set forth in U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual § 5C1.2 (1997). Because Johnson did not meet the five criteria to establish eligibility under the safety valve provision, he cannot show that he was prejudiced by his attorney’s failure to inform him of the provision. See Strick- land v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 (1984). Accordingly, we deny a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal. We dispense with oral argument because the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.

DISMISSED