United States v. Robert Thompson

── United States v. Robert Thompson ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Date: June 10, 2026 Category: General NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ________________ No. 24-2919 ________________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. ROBERT THOMPSON a/k/a Thugga, Appellant ________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (D.C. No. 3:23-cr-00026-012) District Judge: Honorable Malachy E. Mannion ________________ Submitted under Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a) on September 11, 2025 Before: CHAGARES, Chief Judge, PORTER and ROTH, Circuit Judges (Opinion filed: June 10, 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. ROTH, Circuit Judge Robert Thompson appeals his 121-month sentence for fentanyl trafficking. Because his appeal is barred by a valid appellate waiver, and because Thompson has failed to show that any exception to that waiver applies, we will affirm his judgment of sentence. I. Thompson was part of a wide-ranging fentanyl distribution network, purchasing fentanyl pills from Arizona distributors and reselling them to Pennsylvania buyers. He came to the attention of authorities after a woman fatally overdosed on a pill purchased from a network-member. Thompson was later charged in February 2023 with one count of conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846(a). Thompson was arrested in March 2023 and granted pretrial release. That release was conditioned on him, inter alia, not committing additional federal, state, or local offenses, actively seeking employment, refraining from narcotics and excessive alcohol, and submitting to supervision by a pretrial services officer. In June 2023, Thompson’s pretrial services officer reported that Thompson had tested positive for marijuana use on a drug test and had failed to actively seek employment. Although the government moved to revoke his release, Thompson was permitted to remain free subject to additional conditions (including increased substance use counseling). Unfortunately, Thompson’s compliance failed to improve over the following nine months, as he would test positive four times more for marijuana (and three times for alcohol), drive on a suspended license, continue to fail to seek employment, and repeatedly lie to his pretrial services officers. These violations culminated in March 2024, when he was arrested by Scranton police officers and 2 charged—once again—with distributing fentanyl. The government then successfully renewed its motion to revoke Thompson’s release. On May 17, 2024, Thompson and the government entered into a plea agreement in which Thompson stipulated that he had been responsible for trafficking “at least 400 grams but less than 1.2 kilograms of fentanyl.”1 The agreement did not commit the government to a sentencing recommendation or require it to drop any pending charges. Among the primary benefits the agreement provided Thompson was a provision stipulating that, if he could “adequately demonstrate recognition and affirmative acceptance of responsibility t