United States v. Darius Sims

• Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
• Decided: July 22, 2022
• Docket: 21-2230
• Status: Unpublished

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 21-2230 ___________________________

United States of America

Plaintiff - Appellee

v.

Darius Antwone Sims

Defendant - Appellant ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa - Eastern ____________

Submitted: April 13, 2022 Filed: July 22, 2022 [Unpublished] ____________

Before SHEPHERD, ERICKSON, and STRAS, Circuit Judges. ____________

PER CURIAM.

The district court1 enhanced Darius Sims’s sentence for “maintain[ing] a premises for the purpose of manufacturing or distributing a controlled substance.”

1 The Honorable John A. Jarvey, then Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, now retired. U.S.S.G § 2D1.1(b)(12). Although he argues that the enhancement does not apply, we affirm.

There was no error, procedural or otherwise, because the evidence supported the enhancement. See United States v. Miller, 698 F.3d 699, 705 (8th Cir. 2012) (reviewing this finding for clear error). Sims stored large amounts of methamphetamine in his backyard and “distributed [it] from the residence.” Officers also found drug-related items too, including a gun inside and a digital scale located near the stash of methamphetamine outside. On these facts, the district court did not clearly err in finding that distributing drugs was a “primary or principal use[] for the premises,” id. at 706 (quoting U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1 cmt. n.17) (involving similar facts), “even if the premises also served other, legitimate functions,” United States v. Anwar, 880 F.3d 958, 971 (8th Cir. 2018) (quotation marks omitted).

We accordingly affirm the judgment of the district court. ______________________________

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