United States v. Melvin Thomas, 845 F.3d 824

Thomas was indicted for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute heroin and two possession-with-intent counts after DEA wiretap and surveillance linked him to known dealer Domingo Blount and multiple trips between Chicago and Madison.
Traffic stops on Nov. 9 and Dec. 10, 2010 involved female drivers (Anita Andrews, Porcha Bell) who concealed heroin in their genital areas at Thomas’s direction; Thomas was arrested on a probation hold during the Dec. 10 stop.
A consent search of Andrews’s home recovered a digital scale, inositol (cutting agent), and modified sandwich baggies; agents also seized Thomas’s car and cash after he asked his mother in a jail call to tell Andrews to remove his “stash.”
Andrews testified she drove and aided Thomas in drug trips, packaged heroin on at least one occasion, and kept some of his personal items at her home; defense witnesses offered alternative explanations and denied knowledge of heroin ownership.
A jury convicted Thomas of all counts, finding the conspiracy involved 100+ grams of heroin; the PSR recommended a two-level §2D1.1(b)(12) enhancement for maintaining a drug house and classified Thomas as a career offender; district court sentenced him to 216 months.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence for conspiracy conviction	Gov: Andrews was a coconspirator based on trips, packaging, and conduct	Thomas: No knowing agreement; Andrews lacked mens rea and received no benefit	Affirmed — viewing evidence in government’s favor, a reasonable jury could find Andrews knowingly joined the conspiracy under a totality-of-circumstances test
§2D1.1(b)(12) drug-house enhancement (preservation & merits)	Gov: Enhancement proper given residence, drug paraphernalia, packaging, and use of home in distribution	Thomas: General objection to PSR insufficiently preserved issue; also argued no possessory interest and distribution not a primary use	Affirmed — objection not specific (reviewed for plain error); no error: court reasonably found Thomas lived at Andrews’s home and that drug distribution/storage was a primary use, so enhancement applied

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (establishes standard for sufficiency review)
United States v. Granados, 142 F.3d 1016 (7th Cir. 1998) (sufficiency standard applied)
United States v. Fassnacht, 332 F.3d 440 (7th Cir. 2003) (de novo review of denial of judgment of acquittal)
United States v. Brown, 726 F.3d 993 (7th Cir. 2013) (totality-of-circumstances approach to conspiracy proof)
United States v. Sanchez, 810 F.3d 494 (7th Cir. 2016) (drug-house enhancement: storage and tools can show primary use)
United States v. Flores-Olague, 717 F.3d 526 (7th Cir. 2013) (ownership not required for §2D1.1(b)(12) enhancement)
Puckett v. United States, 556 U.S. 129 (addresses importance of timely, specific objections for appellate preservation)