THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA
In The Court of Appeals

The State,        Respondent,

v.

Nathaniel Johnson,        Appellant,

Appeal From Spartanburg County
Gary E. Clary, Circuit Court Judge

Unpublished Opinion No. 2003-UP-553
Submitted July 15, 2003 – Filed September 25, 2003  

APPEAL DISMISSED

Assistant Appellate Defender Robert M. Pachak, of Columbia, for Appellant.

Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General John W. McIntosh, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Charles H. Richardson, all of Columbia;  and Solicitor Harold W. Gowdy, III, of Spartanburg, for Respondent.

PER CURIAM:  Nathaniel Johnson appeals his conviction for armed robbery of a high and aggravated nature, arguing the trial court erred in refusing to grant a directed verdict to the charge of armed robbery because the State failed to prove that appellant was armed with a knife.  Johnson’s counsel attached to the brief a petition to be relieved as counsel, stating that he had reviewed the record and concluded this appeal lacks merit.  After a thorough review of the record, and counsel’s brief 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 dismiss [1] Johnson’s appeal and grant counsel’s motion to be relieved.

APPEAL DISMISSED.

HEARN, C.J., CONNOR and ANDERSON, JJ., concur.