United States v. Antonio Gladney
United States v. Antonio Gladney
Opinion
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 19-4630
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
ANTONIO CORTEZ GLADNEY,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, at Greensboro. William L. Osteen, Jr., District Judge. (1:19-cr-00023-WO-3)
Submitted: November 12, 2020 Decided: November 24, 2020
Before MOTZ, HARRIS, and QUATTLEBAUM, Circuit Judges.
Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Amos G. Tyndall, AMOS TYNDALL PLLC, Carrboro, North Carolina, for Appellant. Matthew G.T. Martin, United States Attorney, Randall S. Galyon, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM:
Following a jury trial, Antonio Cortez Gladney was convicted of conspiracy to
distribute methamphetamine, in violation of
21 U.S.C. § 846, and distribution of
methamphetamine, in violation of
21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A). Gladney was
sentenced to 168 months’ imprisonment. On appeal, Gladney challenges the testimony of
an officer with the High Point Police Department. Finding no reversible error, we affirm.
Gladney contends that an officer was permitted to bolster a confidential informant’s
(CI) testimony by testifying about what the CI told him during the investigation before the
CI offered his own testimony. Federal Rule of Evidence 103(a) requires that, to preserve
for appellate review an objection to evidence, the objection must be specific, timely, and
of record. See United States v. Cabrera–Beltran,
660 F.3d 742, 751(4th Cir. 2011)
(applying plain error review after defendant failed to object to admission of evidence on
Confrontation Clause grounds); United States v. Parodi,
703 F.2d 768, 783(4th Cir. 1983)
(noting that Rule 103(a) requires a timely and specific objection to preserve appellate
review). Gladney’s objections at trial were insufficient to preserve the alleged error on
appeal; accordingly, we review Gladney’s claim for plain error. See United States v.
Moore,
810 F.3d 932, 939(4th Cir. 2016) (noting that evidentiary issue is reviewed for
plain error after defendants failed to object).
On plain error review, “this Court will correct an unpreserved error if (1) an error
was made; (2) the error is plain; (3) the error affects substantial rights; and (4) the error
seriously affects the fairness, integrity, or public reputation of judicial proceedings.”
United States v. Harris,
890 F.3d 480, 491(4th Cir. 2018) (internal quotation marks
2 omitted). Gladney’s reliance on this court’s decision in United States v. Bolick,
917 F.2d 135(4th Cir. 1990), is misplaced. In Bolick, we reversed Bolick’s conviction after
concluding that the government agent had improperly testified that three impeached
witnesses told him that Bolick sold cocaine to one of the three.
Id.at 140–43. Importantly,
we found that the government’s entire case against Bolick relied exclusively on the
observations of those three witnesses, whose “character for veracity . . . was extremely
doubtful.”
Id. at 140. Here, we conclude that there was no plain error. Unlike the agent
in Bolick, the officer here based much of his testimony on personal observation and the
steps he took to corroborate the confidential informant’s information about Gladney.
Additionally, conversations between the confidential informant and Gladney were
recorded and admitted into evidence. Thus, we conclude that the admission of the officer’s
testimony did not affect Gladney’s substantial rights.
Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s criminal judgment. * 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
* Gladney has filed a motion to file a pro se supplemental brief and a supplemental brief. Because Gladney is represented by counsel and this appeal is not submitted pursuant to Anders v. California,
386 U.S. 738(1967), we deny Gladney’s motion to file a pro se supplemental brief. See United States v. Penniegraft,
641 F.3d 566, 569 n.1 (4th Cir. 2011).
3
Reference
- Status
- Unpublished