United States v. Maurice Whitesides

── United States v. Maurice Whitesides ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Date: June 03, 2026 Category: General In the United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit ____________________ No. 24-2999 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. MAURICE WHITESIDES, Defendant-Appellant. ____________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Terre Haute Division. No. 2:24-cr-00011-JRS-CMM-1 — James R. Sweeney II, Chief Judge. ____________________ ARGUED NOVEMBER 4, 2025 — DECIDED JUNE 3, 2026 ____________________ Before EASTERBROOK, KIRSCH, and KOLAR, Circuit Judges. KIRSCH, Circuit Judge. Maurice Whitesides pleaded guilty to drug and firearm offenses. At sentencing, the district court applied a two-level drug-premises enhancement pursuant to United States Sentencing Guidelines § 2D1.1(b)(12). White- sides argues on appeal that the enhancement does not apply because his residence was not continuously used for distrib- uting methamphetamine and that the district court made 2 No. 24-2999 erroneous factual findings. The enhancement was properly applied, and any factual errors were harmless, so we affirm. I After receiving a tip that Maurice Whitesides was distrib- uting drugs in Terre Haute, Indiana, police officers initiated a traffic stop on the car he was driving. The officers searched the car and seized $14,226 from the center console. After re- ceiving warnings pursuant to Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966), Whitesides admitted that he was traveling to Indian- apolis to purchase a large quantity of methamphetamine. Later that day, officers searched a residence rented by Whitesides on Spruce Street in Terre Haute. In a kitchen cab- inet, the officers found approximately 423 grams of pure methamphetamine, two digital scales, and an empty box of sandwich baggies. A loaded handgun and ammunition were found in a bedroom. Officers conducted a separate search of the home of Whitesides’s girlfriend, located on South Seventh Street in Terre Haute, and found roughly 316 grams of pure methamphetamine, two additional scales, and two other fire- arms. Officers also obtained messages from Whitesides’s cell- phone which showed that he provided both the Spruce Street and South Seventh Street addresses to suspected drug cus- tomers. While the specific number of drug transactions that occurred at the Spruce Street home is unclear, officers con- firmed one sale. A grand jury indicted Whitesides with one count of pos- session with intent to distribute a mixture of methampheta- mine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1), and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in No. 24-2999 3 violation of 18 U.S.C. § 992(g)(1). Whitesides pleaded guilty to both counts. In the Presentence Investigation Report, the probation of- ficer recommended a two-level enhancement for maintaining a premises for distributing a controlled substance. U.S.S.G. § 2D1.1(b)(12). At the sentencing hearing, the district court heard testimony from an officer who led the investigation into Whitesides’s activities. The officer testified regarding the cir- cumstances surrounding Whitesides’s arrest, the subsequent investigation of the Spruce Street and South Seventh Street homes, and the messages obtained from Whitesides’s cell- phone. The officer also testified that the investigation re- vealed no evidence that Whitesides was gainfully employed. Whitesides objected to the application of the drug-prem- ises enhancement, arguing that the government failed to demonstrate that he continuously used the Spruce Street home for the purpose of distributing methamphetamine. The district court overruled Whitesi