United States v. Frederico Rosario

── United States v. Frederico Rosario ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Date: May 18, 2026 Category: General NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ______________ No. 25-1807 ______________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. FREDERICO ROSARIO, Appellant ______________ On Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (D.C. No. 3:23-cr-00081-001) U.S. District Judge: Honorable Robert D. Mariani ______________ Submitted Under Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) May 15, 2026 ______________ Before: SHWARTZ, MASCOTT, and McKEE, Circuit Judges. (Filed: May 18, 2026) ______________ OPINION * ______________ ∗ This disposition is not an opinion of the full court and, pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7, does not constitute binding precedent. SHWARTZ, Circuit Judge. Frederico Rosario appeals his drug convictions and sentence. His counsel argues that his appeal presents no nonfrivolous issues and moves to withdraw under Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967). We agree and will grant the motion and affirm. I Rosario sold controlled substances on multiple occasions to a minor, J.R. On one occasion, J.R. texted Rosario about exchanging firearms for cocaine and sent Rosario pictures of the firearms. 1 During their final transaction, Rosario provided J.R. with a white powdery substance that J.R. believed to be cocaine. 2 The next morning, J.R.’s mother found J.R. dead, and toxicological analysis confirmed the cause of death was fentanyl toxicity. Rosario was indicted on eleven counts, including (1) three counts of possession with intent to distribute cocaine (the “drug counts”), and (2) one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and fentanyl resulting in death and serious bodily injury (the “death-resulting count”), in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(C). 3 Before trial, Rosario filed a motion in limine to exclude the text messages about the proposed exchange of firearms for drugs. The District Court denied the request and 1 There is no evidence that the firearms were ever exchanged. 2 The night of the sale, J.R. texted Rosario to ask what was in the substance he bought, but Rosario did not respond to the message. 3 Rosario was also charged with production of child pornography and conspiracy to traffic firearms but those charges were dismissed before trial. 2 held that (1) the text messages related to the exchange of firearms for drugs were evidence intrinsic to the charges, and (2) in the alternative, the text messages were admissible extrinsic evidence under Federal Rule of Evidence 404(b) because they were relevant to identity, intent, and a plan to sell drugs. The jury convicted Rosario of the drug counts and death-resulting count, and the District Court sentenced him to 240 months’ imprisonment on the drug counts and 288 months’ imprisonment on the death-resulting count, to run concurrently. 4 The Court arrived at this sentence based on a total Sentencing Guideline offense level of 38, and a criminal history category of I, which resulte