UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

┐ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, │ Plaintiff-Appellee, │ > No. 23-5610 │ v. │ │ LAMONTE H. BROWN, │ Defendant-Appellant. │ ┘

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky at Lexington. No. 5:21-cr-00075-2—Danny C. Reeves, District Judge.

Decided and Filed: March 6, 2025

Before: THAPAR, BUSH, and MURPHY, Circuit Judges.

_________________

COUNSEL ON BRIEF: John F. Clark, CLARK LAW FIRM PLLC, Detroit, Michigan, for Appellant. John Patrick Grant, Charles P. Wisdom, Jr., UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Lexington, Kentucky, for Appellee. _________________

OPINION _________________

THAPAR, Circuit Judge. Lamonte Brown pled guilty to two separate charges: conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He now appeals various aspects of his sentence. We affirm. No. 23-5610 United States v. Brown Page 2

I.

In the spring of 2021, the Lexington Police Department investigated a large-scale methamphetamine distribution scheme. A cooperating source told police that Lamonte Brown was involved in the organization, so they started surveilling him.

On May 11, the police observed an individual climb into Brown’s car and leave with a bag. The police later stopped that individual (named Tiquan Anderson) and uncovered 467.6 grams of methamphetamine, a digital scale, $2,000 in cash, and suspected fentanyl, cocaine, and marijuana. Anderson pointed the finger at Brown and Brown’s associate, William Hargis.

Anderson clued the police in on where Brown and Hargis ran their drug operations—an office building on Alysheba Way. That’s where Brown and Hargis stored, packaged, and cut drugs to prepare them for sale. How did Anderson know? He had been there just the week before, had seen drugs stored in the ceiling, and had watched Brown and Hargis package drugs.

After the police conducted further surveillance at the Alysheba office, they sprang into action, executing a search warrant at the office. That search yielded 25.15 kilograms of methamphetamine, 879.8 grams of fentanyl, what looked like counterfeit Xanax tablets, firearms, ammunition, explosive devices, several presses (used for making pills), digital scales and blenders smeared with drugs, cutting agents, and packaging materials.

About a month later, Lexington police arrested Brown for drug trafficking. Meanwhile, the police had eyes on Brown’s house. They watched as a woman left the house and put a bag in Brown’s car. After learning that the bag contained marijuana, the police searched the trunk of the car and saw the barrel of a gun. Then they searched the car and discovered more loaded firearms. Brown had prior felony convictions, so his possession of the firearms was prohibited. See 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1).

Federal authorities picked up where the Lexington police left off. They charged Brown with conspiring to knowingly and intentionally possess wit