United States v. Marquis Peterson

── United States v. Marquis Peterson ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Date: June 01, 2026 Category: General USCA4 Appeal: 24-4570 Doc: 54 Filed: 06/01/2026 Pg: 1 of 4 UNPUBLISHED UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE FOURTH CIRCUIT No. 24-4570 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, v. MARQUIS PETERSON, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina, at Raleigh. James C. Dever III, District Judge. (5:23-cr-00023-D-RN-1) Submitted: May 28, 2026 Decided: June 1, 2026 Before WYNN, QUATTLEBAUM, and HEYTENS, Circuit Judges. Affirmed by unpublished per curiam opinion. ON BRIEF: David Q. Burgess, DAVID BURGESS LAW, PC, Charlotte, North Carolina, for Appellant. Daniel P. Bubar, Acting 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 Unpublished opinions are not binding precedent in this circuit.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: 24-4570 Doc: 54 Filed: 06/01/2026 Pg: 2 of 4 PER CURIAM: Marquis Peterson appeals the 480-month sentence imposed after a federal jury found him guilty of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture containing fentanyl, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846; distribution of 40 grams or more of a mixture containing fentanyl and aiding and abetting, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and 18 U.S.C. § 2; and conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute a quantity of a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, in violation of § 846. On appeal, Peterson challenges the district court’s application of enhancements for an aggravating role in the offense, involving another person in his drug activities, and possessing a dangerous weapon. See U.S. Sentencing Guidelines Manual §§ 2D1.1(b)(16), (b)(1), 3B1.1(c) (2023). Based on a total offense level of 42 and a criminal history category of III, the Sentencing Guidelines range was 360 to 1,200 months’ imprisonment. If Peterson prevailed on all three challenges he raises on appeal, the offense level would be 36, and the Guidelines range would be 235 to 293 months. For the following reasons, we affirm. A Guidelines error is harmless—and, thus, does not warrant reversal—if “(1) the district court would have reached the same result even if it had decided the Guidelines issue the other way, and (2) the sentence would be reasonable even if the Guidelines issue had been decided in the defendant’s favor.” United States v. Mills, 917 F.3d 324, 330 (4th Cir. 2019) (citation modified). Here, the district court explicitly stated that a 480-month sentence was warranted under the relevant 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) factors and that it would impose the same sentence as a variance even if it had miscalculated the Guidelines range 2 USCA4 Appeal: 24-4570 Doc: 54 Filed: 06/01/2026 Pg: 3 of 4 based on the court’s assessment of those factors. Because the “court made it abundantly clear that it would have imposed the same sentence . . . regardless of the advice of the Guidelines,” United States v. Gomez-Jimenez, 750 F.3d 370, 382 (4th Cir. 2014), we conclude that the first prong of the assumed error harmlessness inquiry is satisfied. Turning to the second prong, we consider w