
    Eugene P. PATTERSON Plaintiff-Appellant, v. NICKERSON; Dick Chasse; Joseph M. Brooks; R.M. White; Harrell Watts; Tom Burkett; Richard L. Keister; Susan Goldy, Defendants—Appellees.
    No. 04-7686.
    United States Court of Appeals, Fourth Circuit.
    Submitted April 28, 2005.
    Decided May 3, 2005.
    Eugene P. Patterson, Appellant pro se. Virginia Lynn Van Valkenburg, Assistant United States Attorney, Norfolk, Virginia, for Appellees.
    Before WILLIAMS, KING, and DUNCAN, Circuit Judges.
    Affirmed by unpublished PER CURIAM opinion.
    Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. See Local Rule 36(c).
   PER CURIAM.

Eugene P. Patterson appeals the district court’s order dismissing his 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (2000) complaint without prejudice for failure to exhaust administrative remedies. The district court properly required exhaustion of administrative remedies under 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a) (2000). Because Patterson did not demonstrate to the district court that he had exhausted administrative remedies or that such remedies were not available, the court’s dismissal of the action, without prejudice, was not an abuse of discretion. Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s order. 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.

AFFIRMED  