United States v. Brandon Jennings

── United States v. Brandon Jennings ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Date: May 20, 2026 Category: General USCA4 Appeal: 24-6803 Doc: 40 Filed: 05/20/2026 Pg: 1 of 8 UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 24-6803 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. BRANDON MARQUIS JENNINGS, a/k/a Smilez, a/k/a Smilez Finesse, a/k/a Beezy, a/k/a Mustafa Bey, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Raleigh. Louise W. Flanagan, District Judge. (5:18-cr-00318-FL-1) Submitted: April 14, 2026 Decided: May 20, 2026 Before KING, AGEE, and THACKER, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. ON BRIEF: Richard Croutharmel, THE LAW OFFICE OF RICHARD CROUTHARMEL, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellant. Michael F. Easley, Jr., United States Attorney, David A. Bragdon, Assistant United States Attorney, Kristine L. Fritz, Assistant United States Attorney, OFFICE OF THE UNITED STATES ATTORNEY, Raleigh, North Carolina, for Appellee. Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit. USCA4 Appeal: 24-6803 Doc: 40 Filed: 05/20/2026 Pg: 2 of 8 PER CURIAM: In 2020, Brandon Marquis Jennings was convicted, following a four-day jury trial, of two counts of sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion; two counts of sex trafficking of a minor; manufacture and production of child pornography; interstate transportation of a minor with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity; three counts of interstate transportation for prostitution by coercion and enticement; three counts of interstate transportation for prostitution; and use of the internet to promote an unlawful business enterprise, namely prostitution, and aiding and abetting. Jennings’s convictions arose from his sex trafficking of multiple victims and coercion of them to engage in prostitution. The district court sentenced him to concurrent terms of life imprisonment, and this court affirmed the judgment on direct appeal. In 2023, the Government moved for a protective order, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1514(b), to prohibit Jennings from contacting two victims who testified at his trial, one of whom was T.C., and requested an evidentiary hearing. In support of its motion, the Government included an affidavit from Department of Homeland Security Special Agent M.C. Glenn Covington, the case agent and lead investigator in Jennings’s original criminal prosecution; excerpts of T.C.’s trial testimony; a screenshot of threatening text messages Jennings sent to T.C. in 2016; and Jennings’s December 2021 letter to Assistant United States Attorney Blondel, the prosecutor in Jennings’s criminal case. T.C.’s testimony at Jennings’s criminal trial recounted that, although she initially thought she and Jennings had a romantic relationship, he soon began prostituting her, using Backpage and Craigslist to solicit clients, and retaining her earnings. While T.C. worked 2 USCA4 Appeal: 24-6803 Doc: 40 Filed: 05/20/2026 Pg: 3 of 8 for Jennings, he repeatedly physically abused her, threatened to kill her and harm her children, and deprived her of food and sleep. T.C. testified that, when she attempted to leave Jennings, he beat her to the point that she lost consciousness, leaving her with bleeding in her brain and cracked ribs