No. 23-2884 ___________________________

United States of America

Plaintiff - Appellee

v.

Derek Michael Mims

Defendant - Appellant ___________________________

No. 23-3009 ___________________________

United States of America

Plaintiff - Appellee

v.

David Poitier Belton, also known as Blood

Defendant - Appellant ___________________________

No. 23-3140 ___________________________

United States of America

Plaintiff - Appellee v.

Anton Tarrice Whitney, Jr.

Defendant - Appellant ___________________________

No. 23-3218 ___________________________

United States of America

Plaintiff - Appellee

v.

Elmer Mims, Unc

Defendant - Appellant ____________

Appeals from United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa - Cedar Rapids ____________

Submitted: September 25, 2024 Filed: December 9, 2024 ____________ Before SMITH, ERICKSON, and STRAS, Circuit Judges. ____________ ERICKSON, Circuit Judge.

A grand jury indicted Derek Mims (“Derek”), Elmer Mims (“Elmer”), David Belton, and Anton Whitney (collectively “the Members”) with conspiracy to distribute pure methamphetamine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1), (b)(1)(A) & 846. The indictment also charged Whitney with possession of a firearm by a drug

-2- user in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(3) and 924(a)(2), and it charged Belton with possession of a firearm by a felon and drug user in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), 922(g)(3), and 924(a)(2). Derek, Belton, and Whitney entered conditional guilty pleas, and a jury found Elmer guilty. The Members appeal the district court’s1 denial of the motion to suppress evidence from wiretaps and the denial of the motion to recuse. Belton also appeals the denial of the motion to suppress evidence from a vehicle search. Elmer appeals the sufficiency of the evidence for the jury verdict and the length of his sentence. Derek and Whitney also challenge the length of their sentences. I. BACKGROUND

Law enforcement’s investigation of this drug trafficking operation included the use of confidential sources, controlled buys, and physical surveillance of the suspects. To obtain additional evidence not available through conventional investigatory methods, and to identify other potential members of the conspiracy, Bryan Furman, a Task Force Officer assigned to the Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”), applied for a series of wiretap warrants between February 2021 and February 2022. Judge Williams authorized the wiretaps.

When the Members moved to suppress the evidence obtained from the wiretaps, Judge Williams referred the motion to the magistrate judge for a Report and Recommendation. Judge Williams adopted the magistrate judge’s R&R. Because Judge Williams authorized the wiretaps, the Members sought his recusal from determining the motion to suppress. The district court denied the motion to recuse and the motion to suppress.

As part of the investigation, law enforcement seized approximately thirty pounds of methamphetamine from a Volkswagen Passat transported on a car carrier.

1 The Honorable C.J. Williams, United States District Judge, now Chief Judge, for the Northern District of