United States v. Kevin Neysmith

── United States v. Kevin Neysmith ── Court: Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Date: June 09, 2026 Category: General NOT PRECEDENTIAL UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT ________________ No. 25-2772 ________________ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. KEVIN A. NEYSMITH a/k/a Kevin Blackwood, Appellant ________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania (D.C. Criminal Action No. 3:23-cr-00316-001) District Judge: Honorable Julia K. Munley ________________ Submitted under Third Circuit LAR 34.1(a) on April 30, 2026 Before: CHAGARES, Chief Judge, ROTH, Circuit Judge and DOW, District Judge (Opinion filed: June 9, 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 Defendant Kevin Neysmith was serving a term of Pennsylvania state parole when he was arrested for, and pleaded guilty to, federal drug and weapons charges. Neysmith now appeals from a judgment imposed by the District Court sentencing him to a 160-month Guidelines sentence, to be served consecutively—rather than concurrently—to his 24- month state parole revocation sentence. Because Neysmith’s sentence was not an abuse of the District Court’s discretion, we will affirm. I. In September 2022, members of the Lackawanna County Drug Task Force arrested Neysmith in Moosic, Pennsylvania during a pre-arranged drug sale with a confidential informant. After searching Neysmith’s person and obtaining a warrant to search his vehicle, investigators seized various amount of methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin, along with a loaded, unregistered 9mm semi-automatic pistol. At the time of his arrest, Neysmith was serving a term of Pennsylvania state parole for a previous drug conviction. In December 2023, the government charged Neysmith with possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B), and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c).1 In April 2025, Neysmith pleaded guilty to the charges pursuant to a written plea agreement. 1 The government also charged Neysmith with illegal possession of a firearm in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1) and 924 (a)(2), which was dismissed as part of his guilty plea. 2  Based on his criminal history category and offense level, the aggregate Guidelines range for Neysmith’s offenses was 160–185 months, with a mandatory minimum term of 120 months. At sentencing, Neysmith did not move for a departure, but requested that the court consider running his federal sentence concurrent to his 24-month state imprisonment sentence for violating his parole.2 The District Court sentenced Neysmith to a low-end Guidelines sentence of 160 months’ imprisonment. The court also rejected Neysmith’s request that his federal sentence run concurrent to his state sentence, explaining that the state court had found that the two sentences should run consecutively, and that it wanted to leave the state court’s finding in place. Neysmith appealed.