USCA4 Appeal: 25-4027 Doc: 20 Filed: 10/21/2025 Pg: 1 of 3

UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

No. 25-4027

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,

Plaintiff - Appellee,

v.

CARL LEE ROBERT PRICE,

Defendant - Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina, at Anderson. Jacquelyn Denise Austin, District Judge. (8:24-cr-00635-JDA-1)

Submitted: October 16, 2025 Decided: October 21, 2025

Before KING, AGEE, and RICHARDSON, Circuit Judges.

Affirmed in part and dismissed in part by unpublished per curiam opinion.

ON BRIEF: Mario A. Pacello, STROM LAW FIRM, L.L.C., Columbia, South Carolina, for Appellant. William Jacob Watkins, Jr., OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Greenville, South Carolina, for Appellee.

Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. USCA4 Appeal: 25-4027 Doc: 20 Filed: 10/21/2025 Pg: 2 of 3

PER CURIAM:

Carl Lee Robert Price pleaded guilty to possession of child sexual abuse material,

in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2552A(a)(5)(B), (b)(2). The district court sentenced Price to

240 months’ imprisonment and a lifetime term of supervised release. On appeal, counsel

has filed a brief pursuant to Anders v. California,

(1967), questioning whether

the district court erred by declining to depart or vary from the Sentencing Guidelines range.

The Government has moved to dismiss the appeal with respect to all issues falling within

the appeal waiver in Price’s plea agreement. We affirm in part and dismiss in part.

“We review an appellate waiver de novo to determine whether the waiver is

enforceable” and “will enforce the waiver if it is valid and if the issue[s] being appealed

fall[ ] within the scope of the waiver.” United States v. Boutcher,

(4th

Cir. 2021) (internal quotation marks omitted). An appellate waiver is valid if the defendant

enters it “knowingly and intelligently, a determination that we make by considering the

totality of the circumstances.”

“Generally though, if a district court questions a

defendant regarding the waiver of appellate rights during the [Fed. R. Crim. P.] 11 colloquy

and the record indicates that the defendant understood the full significance of the waiver,

the waiver is valid.” United States v. McCoy,

(4th Cir. 2018) (citation

modified).

Our review of the record, including the plea agreement and the transcript of the Rule

11 hearing, confirms that Price’s guilty plea is valid and Price knowingly and intelligently

waived his right to appeal his conviction and sentence, except for claims of ineffective

assistance of counsel, prosecutorial misconduct, and changes in the law that affect his

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sentence. We therefore conclude that the waiver is valid and enforceable and his challenge

to his sentence falls squarely within the scope of the waiver.

In accordance with Anders, we have reviewed the entire record in this case and have

found no meritorious grounds for appeal. We therefore grant the Government’s motion in

part and dismiss the appeal as to all issues within the scope of the appellate waiver. We

affirm the remainder of the judgment. This court requires that counsel inform Price, in

writing, of the right to petition the Supreme Court of the United States for further review.

If Price 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 Price.

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, DISMISSED IN PART

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