____________ FILED September 24, 2024 United States of America, Lyle W. Cayce Clerk Plaintiff—Appellee,

versus Samuel Tanel Crittenden,

Defendant—Appellant. ______________________________

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas USDC No. 3:17-CR-2039-2 ______________________________ Before Dennis, Willett, and Duncan, Circuit Judges. Don R. Willett, Circuit Judge: Samuel Crittenden appeals his conviction for possession with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine, claiming that the district court erred by accepting his waiver of conflict-free counsel and by declining to give a lesser-included-offense jury instruction for simple possession. For the reasons that follow, we AFFIRM. I Federal agents received a tip that methamphetamine was being stored at a house on Byway Drive in El Paso, Texas, and arranged for an informant No. 23-50007

to attempt a controlled buy. The informant called the number associated with the tip and spoke with Crittenden’s wife, Carla Dominguez, who confirmed that she had methamphetamine for sale. Dominguez and the informant agreed to meet in a parking lot to exchange ten pounds of crystal methamphetamine for $35,000. Shortly before the scheduled exchange, agents watched Dominguez and Crittenden leave their family home in separate vehicles. Crittenden drove to the house on Byway Drive and went inside. Dominguez arrived at the same home around forty-five minutes later. Crittenden exited the residence and handed Dominguez a bag through her passenger-side window. Dominguez then left the Byway Drive house and drove in the direction of the parking lot where she had agreed to meet the informant. Police intercepted Dominguez and found a bag with ten bundles of methamphetamine on the passenger floorboard, which weighed roughly ten pounds and was worth approximately $35,000. Agents spoke with Crittenden that evening outside his residence. He admitted that he had stored items in the attic of the Byway Drive house and had given a bag to Dominguez that day. He asserted they were his “wife’s bags” and that he “thought” or “believed” they contained marijuana. Following their interview with Crittenden, agents searched the attic of the residence on Byway Drive. They recovered suitcases filled with three additional bundles of methamphetamine and ninety bundles of marijuana. Crittenden’s friend, who lived at the Byway Drive house, recounted that Crittenden asked to store personal items at the house. He agreed, and Crittenden brought suitcases over and placed them in the attic. Dominguez claimed that an old acquaintance sent the drugs to the home she shared with Crittenden without warning or permission. The delivery arrived as unmarked bundles in a plastic tub. When she informed

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Crittenden about the delivery, he expressed concern that drugs were in the family home with their children. Dominguez testified at trial that Crittenden “probably” repackaged the drugs from the original tub into suitcases. From there, Crittenden moved the suitcases to the Byway Drive house because he did not want drugs around his family. II Dominguez and Crittenden were charged with three counts: (1) conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more methamphetamine; (2) possession with intent t