United States v. Mark Crudup, Jr.
United States v. Mark Crudup, Jr.
Opinion
UNPUBLISHED
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT
No. 19-4569
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff - Appellee,
v.
MARK ANTHONY CRUDUP, JR.,
Defendant - Appellant.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Raleigh. James C. Dever III, District Judge. (5:18-cr-00417-D-1)
Submitted: October 19, 2021 Decided: October 25, 2021
Before KING and THACKER, Circuit Judges, and SHEDD, Senior Circuit Judge.
Affirmed in part, vacated in part, and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.
Elisa C. Salmon, SALMON LAW FIRM, LLP, Lillington, North Carolina, for Appellant. David A. Bragdon, Assistant United States Attorney, Kristine L. Fritz, Assistant United States Attorney, Jennifer P. May-Parker, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee.
Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. PER CURIAM:
In April 2019, Mark Anthony Crudup, Jr., pled guilty, without the benefit of a
written plea agreement, to two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in
violation of
18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g), 924; possession with intent to distribute unspecified
quantities of heroin, marijuana, and fentanyl, in violation of
21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1); and use
of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense, in violation of
18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(A)(i). Crudup’s counsel has filed a brief pursuant to Anders v. California,
386 U.S. 738(1967), asserting that there are no meritorious grounds for appeal, but asking us
to review whether Crudup’s guilty plea was knowing and voluntary and questioning the
reasonableness of Crudup’s aggregate 192-month sentence. Although notified of his right
to do so, Crudup did not file a pro se supplemental brief. For the reasons that follow, we
affirm Crudup’s convictions, but vacate his sentence and remand for resentencing.
We turn first to the validity of Crudup’s guilty plea. Prior to accepting a guilty plea,
the district court must conduct a plea colloquy in which it informs the defendant of, and
determines that the defendant understands, the nature of the charges to which he is pleading
guilty, any applicable mandatory minimum sentence, the maximum possible penalty he
faces, and the various rights he relinquishes by pleading guilty. Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(b)(1);
United States v. DeFusco,
949 F.2d 114, 116(4th Cir. 1991). The court also must ensure
that the defendant’s plea is voluntary, supported by a sufficient factual basis, and not the
result of force, threats, or extrinsic promises. Fed. R. Crim. P. 11(b)(2), (3); DeFusco,
949 F.2d at 119-20.
2 Because Crudup did not move to withdraw his guilty plea or otherwise preserve any
allegation of Rule 11 error in the district court, we review the plea colloquy for plain error.
United States v. Sanya,
774 F.3d 812, 815(4th Cir. 2014). Under this rigorous standard,
we “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 omitted). In the guilty plea context, a defendant
establishes that an error affected his substantial rights by demonstrating a reasonable
probability that, but for the error, he would not have pled guilty. United States v. Davila,
569 U.S. 597, 608(2013). Here, the record reveals that, to the extent that there were Rule
11 errors, they did not affect Crudup’s substantial rights. Accordingly, we hold that
Crudup’s guilty plea is valid and that Crudup entered it with full knowledge of the attendant
consequences.
We turn next to Crudup’s sentence. As to this issue, plenary review identifies one
reversible error. Specifically, when announcing the terms of supervised release during the
sentencing hearing, the district court did not orally pronounce all the discretionary
conditions of supervision. 1 However, in its written judgment, the court included the
statutorily imposed mandatory conditions, 13 standard conditions, and 6 special conditions.
1 In United States v. Rogers, we explained the different categories of conditions of supervised release:
[18 U.S.C. §] 3583(d) divides supervised-release conditions into two and only two categories: mandatory conditions . . . , which must be imposed in (Continued) 3 While a district court need not orally pronounce all mandatory conditions, “all non-
mandatory conditions of supervised release must be announced at a defendant’s sentencing
hearing.” Rogers, 961 F.3d at 296. The court “may satisfy its obligation to orally
pronounce discretionary conditions through incorporation” by reference to, for example,
the standard conditions recommended by the Sentencing Guidelines. Id. at 299. But the
court in this case did not state that it was incorporating the standard conditions of
supervision detailed in the Guidelines, and it included additional discretionary conditions
in the written judgment that were not orally announced at sentencing. When the court fails
to announce discretionary conditions of supervised release that are later included in the
written judgment, the remedy is to vacate the sentence and remand for resentencing. 2 See
United States v. Singletary,
984 F.3d 341, 346 & n.4 (4th Cir. 2021).
every case; and discretionary conditions, which include everything else. . . . The Sentencing Guidelines further subcategorize discretionary conditions, listing standard conditions that are recommended for all terms of supervised release, special conditions that are recommended only in certain circumstances, and additional conditions that may be appropriate on a case- by-case basis.
961 F.3d 291, 297(4th Cir. 2020) (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). 2 We note that the district court did not have the benefit of our decisions in Rogers and Singletary when it sentenced Crudup.
4 In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the record in this case and have found
no other meritorious grounds for appeal. 3 We therefore affirm Crudup’s convictions,
vacate his sentence, and remand for resentencing.
This court requires that counsel inform Crudup, in writing, of the right to petition
the Supreme Court of the United States for further review. If Crudup requests that a
petition be filed, but counsel believes that such a petition would be frivolous, then counsel
may move in this court for leave to withdraw from representation. Counsel’s motion must
state that a copy thereof was served on Crudup. 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 IN PART, VACATED IN PART, AND REMANDED
3 Because the sentence was not properly imposed, we do not address any other potential issues related to Crudup’s sentence at this juncture. See Singletary,
984 F.3d at 346-47(declining to consider additional challenges to original sentence). 5
Reference
- Status
- Unpublished