United States of America v. Antoine Ray Thomas

United States Court of Appeals
For the Eighth Circuit
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No. 24-1409
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United States of America
Plaintiff - Appellee
v.
Antoine Ray Thomas
Defendant - Appellant
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Appeal from United States District Court
for the District of South Dakota - Southern
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Submitted: December 19, 2024
Filed: February 10, 2025
[Unpublished]
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Before LOKEN, ERICKSON, and KOBES, Circuit Judges.
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PER CURIAM.
Antoine Thomas pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance,
in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and 846, and possession of a firearm by a
prohibited person, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 924(g)(1) and 924(a)(2). He appeals

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his sentences, contending the district court1 erred by attributing 50 pounds of
methamphetamine to him based on a text message from a co-conspirator. Finding
no clear error, we affirm.
In late 2021, law enforcement officers received tips that large amounts of
methamphetamine and counterfeit fentanyl pills were entering South Dakota from
California. The investigation soon focused on a small group consisting of Thomas,
his brother Tyrin, their cousin Stevie, and an associate named Lyric. Officers
identified Thomas as a key person who frequently arranged the delivery of packages
containing controlled substances. Thomas, Tyrin, and Lyric shared addresses and
stored contraband in various apartments or storage units.
On February 10, 2022, an officer from the Sioux Falls Police Department
stopped Thomas’s vehicle for a traffic infraction. When the officer approached the
vehicle, he detected a strong odor of marijuana and initiated a vehicle search. The
search yielded 549.1 grams of methamphetamine in multiple plastic baggies, 31
grams of suspected fentanyl pills (labeled “M30”), 185.9 grams of marijuana, $3,600
in cash, two firearms, bulk packaging, and a digital scale. Thomas was arrested.
Investigators obtained recorded jail calls and text messages from various
phones. The text messages contained references to “monthly” shipments. In one
text message conversation, Stevie complained to Lyric about how Thomas was short
on money after dealing large amounts of methamphetamine over time, stating that
“Tony sold over 50 pounds nd aint have shit to show before he got popped
[arrested].” Stevie also criticized Lyric and Thomas for not saving drug proceeds.
Law enforcement viewed the text discussion as an internal complaint among co-
conspirators about Thomas’s inability to account for the proceeds and failure to
manage the proceeds properly. Officers also reviewed shipment information of
packages being shipped from California to Sioux Falls that reportedly contained five
1 The Honorable Karen E. Schreier, United States District Judge for the
District of South Dakota.

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to ten pounds of methamphetamine each, as well as thousands of dollars in Western
Union money transfers.
Thomas pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute at least 500 grams of
methamphetamine. At sentencing, an officer testified about the text messages
referencing monthly deliveries of five to ten pounds of methamphetamine, Thomas’s
role in receiving and selling methamphetamine and fentanyl, and Stevie’s mid-
conspiracy text about Tony selling over 50 pounds. Thomas objected to the drug
quantity and to its characterization as actual methamphetamine as speculative since
it had never been tested. He contended the 50-pound figure came from a single text
by Stevie, who had an incentive to exaggerate, and even if the conspiracy involved
shipments of five to ten pounds, not all the drugs were properly attributable to him.
The district court credited Stevie’s text indicating Thomas had sold over 50
pounds of methamphetamine, noting co-conspirators usually have no motive to
inflate drug quantities in private messages. It also treated the text discussion about
the lack of drug proceeds as a frank, internal complaint among co-conspirators. The
district court further found the government had failed to show all 50 pounds was
“actual” methamphetamine. With those findings, Thomas’s base offense level was
determined to be 36 plus two levels were added for possession of a gun. Thomas
was in criminal history category III, which yielded a Sentencing Guidelines range of
235 to 293 months. The court imposed a 240-month sentence on the conspiracy
count and a concurrent 180-month term for the firearm offense.
On appeal, we review Thomas’s objections to the district court’s factual
findings on drug quantity for clear error and defer to the district court’s credibility
findings unless they are implausible. See United States v. White, 447 F.3d 1029,
1032 (8th Cir. 2006). Determining drug quantity at sentencing does not require the
same level of proof as a conviction; the court may consider relevant information
without regard to its admissibility at trial, provided the information has sufficient
indicia of reliability. See United States v. Azure, 596 F.3d 449, 454 (8th Cir. 2010);
U.S.S.G. §6A1.3(a).

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Here, the district court found Stevie’s text message credible. The government
bolstered the message’s reliability with evidence of shipping and financial records
as well as the officer’s detailed description of the operation’s scope—which included
at least six monthly shipments of five to ten pounds. Although Thomas speculates
that Stevie’s message was hyperbole or exaggeration, the district court was free to
credit the government’s interpretation of the evidence. See United States v. Buford,
42 F.4th 872, 876 (8th Cir. 2022) (noting that when the quantity of drugs is
established through a witness’s testimony, the issue is one of credibility). As to
Thomas’s claim about purity, he prevailed on this issue below and the court treated
the controlled substance as a mixture, rather than actual methamphetamine.
For the foregoing reasons, the district court did not clearly err in its findings
relating to the Sentencing Guidelines calculation. The judgment of the district court
is affirmed.
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