                              UNPUBLISHED

                   UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
                       FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT


                              No. 00-7813



RONALD LLOYD SUTPHIN,

                                            Petitioner - Appellant,

          versus


COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA,

                                             Respondent - Appellee.



Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western Dis-
trict of Virginia, at Roanoke. Samuel G. Wilson, Chief District
Judge. (CA-00-335-7)


Submitted:   April 27, 2001                    Decided:   May 3, 2001


Before LUTTIG and MOTZ, Circuit Judges, and HAMILTON, Senior Cir-
cuit Judge.


Dismissed by unpublished per curiam opinion.


Ronald Lloyd Sutphin, Appellant Pro Se. Richard Bain Smith, Assis-
tant Attorney General, Richmond, Virginia, for Appellee.


Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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

     Ronald   Lloyd   Sutphin    appeals   the   district   court’s   order

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

1994 & Supp. 2000).    We have reviewed the record and the district

court’s opinion and find no reversible error. Accordingly, we deny

a certificate of appealability and dismiss the appeal on the rea-

soning of the district court. Sutphin v. Virginia, No. CA-00-335-7

(W.D. Va. Nov. 30, 2000).       We dispense with oral argument because

the facts and legal contentions are adequately presented in the ma-

terials before the court and argument would not aid the decisional

process.




                                                                DISMISSED




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