United States v. Amacker-Owen

Case: 22-60654 Document: 00516850666 Page: 1 Date Filed: 08/08/2023

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit

____________ United States Court of Appeals

Fifth Circuit

No. 22-60654

FILED August 8, 2023

Summary Calendar

____________ Lyle W. Cayce

Clerk United States of America,

Plaintiff—Appellee, versus

Kelli Jo Amacker-Owen,

Defendant—Appellant. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi USDC No. 1:21-CR-104-2

______________________________

Before Smith, Higginson, and Engelhardt, Circuit Judges.

Per Curiam: *

Kelli Jo Amacker-Owen appeals the 210-month sentence she received after she pleaded guilty to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing heroin, a mixture or substance containing methamphetamine, and a mixture or substance containing methylenedioxymethamphetamine. Amacker-Owen challenges the district

Case: 22-60654 Document: 00516850666 Page: 2 Date Filed: 08/08/2023

No. 22-60654 court’s two-level enhancement for possession of a firearm during the offense and the drug quantity calculation. The Government moves to dismiss the appeal or, alternatively, for summary affirmance based on the appeal waiver in Amacker-Owen’s plea agreement.

We review whether an appeal waiver bars an appeal de novo. United States v. Winchel, 896 F.3d 387, 388 (5th Cir. 2018). The record demonstrates that Amacker-Owen’s appeal waiver was knowing and voluntary. See United States v. McKinney, 406 F.3d 744, 746 n.2 (5th Cir. 2005). Under the plain language of the waiver, her arguments challenging her sentence have been waived. See United States v. Bond, 414 F.3d 542, 544 (5th Cir. 2005); see also United States v. Alvarado-Casas, 715 F.3d 945, 955-56 (5th Cir. 2013).

Accordingly, the Government’s motion to dismiss the appeal is GRANTED, and its alternative motion for summary affirmance is DENIED.