United States v. Melvin Morgan

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 25-2308 ___________________________ United States of America Plaintiff - Appellee v. Melvin Navarro Morgan Defendant - Appellant ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the Western District of Missouri - Springfield ____________ Submitted: April 23, 2026 Filed: April 28, 2026 [Unpublished] ____________ Before LOKEN, SMITH, and BENTON, Circuit Judges. ____________ PER CURIAM.

Melvin Morgan appeals the sentence the district court 1 imposed after it found him guilty of drug and firearm offenses following a bench trial. His counsel has requested leave to withdraw, and has filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 The Honorable Stephen R. Bough, United States District Judge for the Western District of Missouri.

U.S. 738 (1967), discussing whether the sentence is substantively unreasonable.

Morgan has filed a motion for appointment of new counsel. Having jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, this court affirms.

Upon careful review, this court concludes that the district court did not impose a substantively unreasonable sentence. See United States v. Feemster, 572 F.3d 455, 461-62 (8th Cir. 2009) (en banc) (abuse of discretion review); see also United States v. McCauley, 715 F.3d 1119, 1127 (8th Cir. 2013). Having independently reviewed the record under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (1988), this court finds no non- frivolous issues for appeal.

The judgment is affirmed, counsel is granted leave to withdraw, and Morgan’s motion for appointment of new counsel is denied. ______________________________

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