THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
In The Court of Appeals

The State,        Respondent,

v.

Arthur McDonald,        Appellant.

Appeal From Anderson County
J. C. Buddy Nicholson, Jr., Circuit Court Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2003-UP-733
Submitted October 15, 2003 – Filed December 16, 2003

APPEAL DISMISSED

Chief Attorney Daniel T. Stacey, Office of Appellate Defense, of Columbia, for Appellant.

Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Charles H. Richardson, Office of the Attorney General, all of Columbia;  and Solicitor Druanne Dykes White, of Anderson, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM:  Arthur McDonald was indicted for unlawful carrying of a firearm about the person in violation of S.C. Code Ann. § 16-23-20 (2003) and possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a crime of violence in violation of S.C. Code Ann. § 16-23-30 (2003).  He entered a plea of guilty pursuant to North Carolina v. Alford, 400 U.S. 25, 91 S.Ct. 160, 27 L.Ed.2d 162 (1970).  The trial court sentenced him to one year and four years respectively, with the sentences concurrent.  McDonald’s counsel attached to the final brief a petition to be relieved as counsel stating that he had reviewed the record and concluded the appeal lacked merit.  McDonald filed a pro se response.

We dismiss pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967) and State v. Williams, 305 S.C. 116, 406 S.E.2d 357 (1991), we hold there are no directly appealable issues that are arguable on their merits.  Accordingly, we dismiss McDonald’s appeal and grant counsel’s petition to be relieved.

APPEAL DISMISSED.

HUFF, STILWELL, and BEATTY, JJ., concur.