United States v. Stephen Griffin, Jr.

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 25-2724 ___________________________ United States of America lllllllllllllllllllllPlaintiff - Appellee v. Stephen Griffin, Jr., also known as Baby Steve, also known as Steve, also known as Lil Steve, also known as Neely, also known as Hasaan lllllllllllllllllllllDefendant - Appellant ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis ____________ Submitted: May 22, 2026 Filed: May 28, 2026 [Unpublished] ____________ Before GRUENDER, KELLY, and KOBES, Circuit Judges. ____________ PER CURIAM.

Stephen Griffin, Jr., appeals the sentence imposed by the district court1 after he pled guilty to drug and firearm charges pursuant to a plea agreement. His counsel has moved for leave to withdraw, and has filed a brief under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), challenging the substantive reasonableness of the sentence.

After careful review, we conclude the district court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing Griffin. See United States v. Feemster, 572 F.3d 455, 461 (8th Cir. 2009) (en banc) (standard of review); see also United States v. McCauley, 715 F.3d 1119, 1127 (8th Cir. 2013) (stating it is “nearly inconceivable” district court abused its discretion in not varying further when it varied below the Guidelines range).

Having independently reviewed the record under Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75 (1988), we find no non-frivolous issues for appeal.

Accordingly, we affirm and grant counsel’s motion to withdraw. ______________________________

The Honorable Stephen R. Clark, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.

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