UNPUBLISHED

UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff-Appellee,

v.
                                                                  No. 97-7409
HECTOR SANTOYO LEONES, a/k/a
Victor Flores, a/k/a Bic, a/k/a The
Mexican,
Defendant-Appellant.

Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Raleigh.
W. Earl Britt, Senior District Judge.
(CR-91-52-BR, CA-97-331-5-BR)

Submitted: July 30, 1998

Decided: August 19, 1998

Before WIDENER, LUTTIG, and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges.

_________________________________________________________________

Vacated and remanded by unpublished per curiam opinion.

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COUNSEL

Hector Santoyo Leones, Appellant Pro Se. Robert Edward Skiver,
Assistant United States Attorney, Bruce Charles Johnson, OFFICE
OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Raleigh, North Carolina,
for Appellee.

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Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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

_________________________________________________________________

OPINION

PER CURIAM:

Appellant appeals the district court's order denying relief on his
motion filed under 28 U.S.C.A. § 2255 (West 1994 & Supp. 1998).
Appellant's conviction became final in 1992. On April 23, 1997,
Appellant filed his § 2255 motion. The district court denied relief
because Appellant filed his motion outside the one-year limitation
period imposed by § 2255. Pursuant to our recent decision in Brown
v. Angelone, ___ F.3d ___, Nos. 96-7173, 96-7208, 1998 WL 389030
(4th Cir. July 14, 1998), Appellant had until April 23, 1997, to file
a timely motion. Appellant's § 2255 motion is therefore timely.
Accordingly, we grant a certificate of appealability on this issue,
vacate the district court's order, and remand this case for consider-
ation on the merits. 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.

VACATED AND REMANDED

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