                            UNPUBLISHED

                   UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                       FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT



                            No. 98-6451



JAMES EDMOND WATTS,

                                           Petitioner - Appellant,

          versus


E. L. PEARSON, Warden; ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE
COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA,

                                          Respondents - Appellees.



Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western Dis-
trict of Virginia, at Roanoke. Samuel G. Wilson, Chief District
Judge. (CA-97-355-R)


Submitted:   May 14, 1998                   Decided:   June 3, 1998


Before WIDENER and MICHAEL, Circuit Judges, and BUTZNER, Senior
Circuit Judge.


Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.


James Edmond Watts, Appellant Pro Se. Pamela Anne Sargent, Assis-
tant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellees.


Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.
See Local Rule 36(c).
PER CURIAM:

     Appellant seeks to appeal the district court's order denying

relief on his petition filed under 28 U.S.C.A. § 2254 (West 1994 &

Supp. 1998). We have reviewed the record and the district court's

opinion and find no reversible error. Accordingly, we deny a cer-

tificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal on the reasoning
of the district court. Watts v. Pearson, No. CA-97-355-R (W.D. Va.
Mar. 3, 1998). We dispense with oral argument because the facts and

legal contentions are adequately presented in the materials before

the court and argument would not aid the decisional process.




                                                         DISMISSED




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