United States v. Antone Little

── United States v. Antone Little ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Date: May 15, 2026 Category: General United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________ No. 25-1529 ___________________________ United States of America Plaintiff - Appellee v. Antone Little Defendant - Appellant ____________ Appeal from United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri - St. Louis ____________ Submitted: January 16, 2026 Filed: May 15, 2026 ____________ Before SMITH, BENTON, and ERICKSON, Circuit Judges. ____________ ERICKSON, Circuit Judge. Antone Little pled guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g) and 924(a)(8), and one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and 841(b)(1)(C). He was sentenced to a 235-month term of imprisonment. On appeal, Little asserts the district court erred when it applied a four-level enhancement under USSG § 2D1.1(b)(13)(A) for knowingly misrepresenting or marketing a substance containing fentanyl as another substance. Little also asserts the district court committed plain error when it found him ineligible for federal benefits under 21 U.S.C. § 862(a)(1)(C). We affirm the term of imprisonment imposed by the district court, but we vacate the permanent denial of federal benefits. I. BACKGROUND On March 14, 2023, St. Louis police received a tip from a confidential informant that “Ant,” later identified as Antone Little, was distributing narcotics from a residence on Kennerly Avenue in St. Louis. The informant reported that Little would exit the residence from a rear door or side door, collect cash from customers, return to the residence to obtain the drugs, and exit the residence to provide the customers with narcotics. An investigative team surveilled the residence for two weeks and observed transactions as described by the confidential informant. On March 28, 2023, the investigative team conducted a controlled buy using the confidential informant. The informant bought $40 worth of crack cocaine from Little and also observed Little sell a woman fentanyl capsules. Detectives obtained a search warrant and three days later searched the residence. In the front room, they recovered a 9mm handgun, a shotgun, a revolver, two bags of empty pill capsules, a pill capper, narcotics, and a blender with white residue. In Little’s bedroom, detectives found 1,633 yellow tablets marked with “C <>230” containing 854.24 grams of fentanyl. While the detectives were searching the residence, the lead investigator, Detective Ryan Drago, interviewed Little. Little told Detective Drago that he purchased the yellow tablets for approximately $1,000. According to Detective Drago’s report, Little also said the yellow tablets were imitation oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl and methamphetamine. The report quoted Little as saying, “Hey if you are dumb enough to believe I am selling Oxycodone at this cheap of a price then you stupid as hell. If they overdose, then oh well. That is part of the game.” -2-  Little was indicted on one count of felon in possession of a firearm, one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, and one count of possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Little signed a plea agreement in which he pled guilty to the first two counts. The plea agreement left open whether Little was subject to a four-level enhancemen