United States v. Khari Qunarll Smith

── United States v. Khari Qunarll Smith ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Date: May 04, 2026 Category: General NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION File Name: 26a0201n.06 Case No. 25-5090 FILED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS May 04, 2026 FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT KELLY L. STEPHENS, Clerk ) UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ) Plaintiff - Appellee, ) ) ON APPEAL FROM THE UNITED v. ) STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE ) EASTERN DISTRICT OF KENTUCKY KHARI QUNARLL SMITH, ) Defendant - Appellant. ) OPINION ) Before: KETHLEDGE, NALBANDIAN, and RITZ, Circuit Judges. RITZ, Circuit Judge. Khari Smith pled guilty to drug crimes. At sentencing, the district court applied an enhancement for maintaining a drug-involved premises, or “stash house,” and sentenced Smith to 200 months in prison. Smith challenges the stash-house enhancement as well as the reasonableness of his sentence. We affirm. BACKGROUND I. Factual background In 2023, the Drug Enforcement Administration in Lexington, Kentucky began investigating Smith’s brother, Khmari Smith,1 for trafficking methamphetamine and fentanyl. Agents learned that Khmari leased two residences in Lexington, one in an apartment building on North Locust Hill Drive and one on Roosevelt Boulevard, and that Smith assisted Khmari with distributing drugs from sources in Detroit, Michigan. On one occasion, law enforcement officers saw Khmari and Smith travel from Detroit to the Roosevelt Boulevard address, leave after fifteen 1 For ease of reference, we refer to Khmari Smith by his first name. No. 25-5090, United States v. Smith minutes, travel to the North Locust Hill Drive apartment building, and enter the building with two suitcases and two backpacks that they had retrieved from their car. Based on these observations, agents obtained search warrants for both addresses. Their searches turned up fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana, and several firearms at the Roosevelt Boulevard address. At North Locust Hill Drive, agents found more fentanyl and firearms, as well as currency, oxycodone, methamphetamine, and drug processing equipment such as cutting agents, personal protection equipment, a press, and written instructions for mixing narcotics. They also found men’s clothing in the two bedrooms. II. Procedural history Smith pled guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl and to three additional offenses involving the possession and trafficking of methamphetamine and fentanyl. The presentence report prepared for Smith’s sentencing hearing recommended that the district court apply a two-offense-level enhancement under United States Sentencing Guideline §2D1.1(b)(12) for maintaining a premises for the purpose of manufacturing or distributing a controlled substance—otherwise known as a stash-house enhancement. Based on a total offense level of 36 and a criminal history category of I, the recommended imprisonment range was 188 to 235 months. Smith objected to the stash-house enhancement, arguing that Khmari rented the two residences and that Smith did not lease, maintain, or control either of them. Smith further argued that he lived mostly in Detroit and came to Lexington only for short time periods to assist Khmari with his drug trafficking activities. At the sentencing he