UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

┐ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, │ Plaintiff-Appellee, │ > No. 23-5064 │ v. │ │ MAURICE A. TAYLOR, │ Defendant-Appellant. │ ┘

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky at Lexington. No. 5:21-cr-00101-1—Danny C. Reeves, Chief District Judge.

Decided and Filed: October 25, 2023

Before: BATCHELDER, GRIFFIN, and LARSEN, Circuit Judges. _________________

COUNSEL ON BRIEF: Steven D. Jaeger, THE JAEGER FIRM, PLLC, Erlanger, Kentucky on the merits brief, HEMMER WESSELS MCMURTRY, PLLC, Ft. Mitchell, Kentucky on the reply brief, for Appellant. Lauren Tanner Bradley, Charles P. Wisdom, Jr., UNITED STATES ATTORNEY’S OFFICE, Lexington, Kentucky, for Appellee. _________________

OPINION _________________

GRIFFIN, Circuit Judge.

Defendant Maurice Taylor pleaded guilty to two drug-trafficking crimes, and the district court sentenced him to 385 months’ imprisonment. In this appeal, Taylor contends that the district court erroneously found applicable three sentencing enhancements: maintaining a drug No. 23-5064 United States v. Taylor Page 2

premises; being a leader/organizer; and using force, friendship, or affection to involve another in a conspiracy. We affirm.

I.

Kentucky law enforcement officials learned that Taylor was part of a drug-distribution network. They began surveilling houses associated with him, and ultimately seized several kilograms of cocaine and fentanyl. A grand jury charged Taylor, along with many other individuals, with numerous conspiracy- and drug-related crimes. He subsequently pleaded guilty to two crimes pursuant to a plea agreement: conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute five or more kilograms of cocaine and four hundred or more grams of fentanyl in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), 846; and possession with intent to distribute five hundred grams or more of cocaine in violation of § 841(a).

The presentence investigation report recommended the district court apply three sentencing enhancements: (1) maintaining a premises for the purpose of manufacturing or distributing a controlled substance under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(12); (2) being an organizer or leader of a criminal activity that involved five or more participants under U.S.S.G. § 3B1.1(a); and (3) using fear, impulse, friendship, affection, or some combination thereof to involve another individual in the illegal purchase, sale, transport, or storage of a controlled substance under U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(16)(A). Over defendant’s objections and following testimony from several witnesses, the district court applied those enhancements, calculated his Guidelines range to be 324 to 405 months, and sentenced him to a prison term of 385 months. Taylor challenges only the application of these enhancements on appeal.

II.

Whether a district court properly applied a sentencing enhancement is a matter of procedural reasonablen