United States v. Marcus Longus

── United States v. Marcus Longus ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Date: May 15, 2026 Category: General USCA4 Appeal: 24-4309 Doc: 28 Filed: 05/15/2026 Pg: 1 of 11 UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 24-4309 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. MARCUS DEON LONGUS, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia, at Martinsburg. Thomas S. Kleeh, Chief District Judge. (3:21-cr-00033-TSK-RWT-13) Submitted: December 3, 2025 Decided: May 15, 2026 Before RUSHING and BENJAMIN, Circuit Judges, and TRAXLER, Senior Circuit Judge. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. ON BRIEF: Douglas Sughrue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for Appellant. William Ihlenfeld, United States Attorney, Lara K. Omps-Botteicher, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Martinsburg, West Virginia, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. USCA4 Appeal: 24-4309 Doc: 28 Filed: 05/15/2026 Pg: 2 of 11 PER CURIAM: Marcus Deon Longus pleaded guilty to a drug-distribution conspiracy charge involving cocaine, cocaine base, and heroin mixed with fentanyl, and was sentenced to 168 months’ imprisonment followed by a three-year term of supervised release. Longus appeals, raising various challenges to his sentence. Finding no reversible error, we affirm. I. In July 2021, Longus was one of 34 defendants named in a 30-count indictment focused on a drug-distribution conspiracy operating in Berkely County, West Virginia. Longus was named in four counts—conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine, crack cocaine, and a heroin-fentanyl mixture, see 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a), 846; and three related counts of using a communication device to commit a drug-distribution felony, see 21 U.S.C. § 843(b). After the issuance of a superseding indictment in 2022, Longus pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge. According to the presentence report, Longus’s offense involved at least 3.5 (but less than 5) kilograms of cocaine, which yielded a base offense level of 28. The PSR added two levels to reflect Longus’s role in the offense, for a total recommended offense level of 30. Because Longus had smuggled contraband into the jail while he was awaiting sentencing, the PSR did not include an offense-level reduction for accepting responsibility. With a total offense level of 30 and Longus’s Category IV criminal history, the PSR concluded that Longus’s advisory sentencing range was 135-168 months. Longus objected to the calculations and recommendations of the PSR and sought a downward departure from the Guidelines sentencing range. 2 USCA4 Appeal: 24-4309 Doc: 28 Filed: 05/15/2026 Pg: 3 of 11 At the sentencing hearing, the government presented testimony from Sergeant Jonathan Bowman, a member of the task force that spearheaded the investigation into the drug-trafficking organization. Bowman testified about various intercepted phone calls where Longus set up and discussed drug transactions with suppliers and customers, and he described several supply runs to New York undertaken by Longus and a cooperating co- defendant, who also testified at the sentencing hearing. Bowman also testified about the surveillance