United States v. Emmitt Cosen, 965 F.3d 929

Emmitt Cosen pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and possession with intent to distribute <50 kg of marijuana (Feb 26, 2018); two related counts were later dismissed.
Police found a .40 caliber pistol in plain view on a living-room table, suspected THC edibles, two digital scales, and a safe containing a .40 mag, vacuum sealer, and storage-unit documents; a warrant search of the storage unit produced seven kilograms of vacuum-sealed marijuana.
Cosen admitted to purchasing and distributing marijuana on a large scale and earning over $100,000 in the prior year.
The district court applied a four-level enhancement under USSG §2K2.1(b)(6)(B) (firearm "in connection with" another felony), producing a 46–57 month guideline range, and imposed a 57-month sentence.
Cosen argued the gun belonged to a friend (Kyle Rogers) who mistakenly left it and thus was not connected to his drug trafficking; the district court rejected that explanation, finding Cosen had possession, control, and the firearm was in close proximity to drugs/paraphernalia.
On appeal the Eighth Circuit affirmed both the enhancement (no clear error) and the within-guidelines 57-month sentence (no abuse of discretion).

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether §2K2.1(b)(6)(B) enhancement applies	Cosen: gun was accidentally left by friend; not connected to drug offense	Government: gun found among drugs/paraphernalia and Cosen had possession/control	Enhancement applies — firearm found in close proximity to trafficking evidence; district court's factual finding not clearly erroneous
Whether 57-month sentence was substantively unreasonable	Cosen: mitigating factors (abuse, addiction, remorse) justify downward variance	Government: aggravating factors (large-scale trafficking, firearm, probation status, violence) justify within- or upward-range sentence	Sentence reasonable — within-guidelines presumption not rebutted; no abuse of discretion

United States v. Mangum, 625 F.3d 466 (8th Cir. 2010) (standards of appellate review)
United States v. Fuentes Torres, 529 F.3d 825 (8th Cir. 2008) (distinguishes drug-possession vs. trafficking rules for firearm enhancement)
United States v. Brockman, 924 F.3d 988 (8th Cir. 2019) (possession with intent to distribute is a drug trafficking offense)
United States v. Lyes, [citation="770 F. App'x 783"] (8th Cir.) (firearm found with drug paraphernalia in same location supports enhancement)
United States v. Callaway, 762 F.3d 754 (8th Cir. 2014) (within-guidelines sentence is presumptively reasonable)
United States v. Washington, 893 F.3d 1076 (8th Cir. 2018) (defendant bears burden to rebut presumption of reasonableness)