UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 99-4481

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

versus

WILBERT EMMETTE WILKINS,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern Dis- trict of Virginia, at Alexandria. T.S. Ellis, III, District Judge. (CR-99-8)

Submitted: January 20, 2000 Decided: February 1, 2000

Before WILLIAMS, MICHAEL, and TRAXLER, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.

Joseph J. McCarthy, DELANEY, MCCARTHY, COLTON & BOTZIN, P.C., Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellant. Helen F. Fahey, United States Attorney, Andrew McKenna, Special Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Alexandria, Virginia, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c). PER CURIAM:

Wilbert Emmette Wilkins was convicted by a jury and sentenced

to eighty-six months in prison for possession of a firearm by a

convicted felon, in violation of

(g)(1) (West

Supp. 1999) and fleeing to elude a law enforcement officer, in

violation of

(West Supp. 1999)(assimilating Va.

Code. Ann. § 46.2-817 (Michie Supp. 1999)). Wilkins, an African-

American, contends that the Government’s peremptory strike of an

African-American venire person was racially discriminatory.

We conclude that the court did not clearly err in finding the

Government’s peremptory challenge was based upon racially neutral

factors and was not pretext for discrimination. See Batson v. Ken-

tucky,

(1986); United States v. Grimmond,

(4th Cir.), cert. denied,

(1998)

(noting that Government’s reason need not be persuasive or

plausible, just neutral).

Accordingly, we affirm Wilkins’ convictions and sentence. 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.

AFFIRMED

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