United States of America v. Myshun Jefferson

Memphis, Tennessee, criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with selling, distribution, or dispensing drugs and commission of a violent crime with a machine gun.



In May 2023, Bartlett Tennessee Police Department (BPD) officers met with a confidential source (the CS) who said that Jefferson was selling fentanyl from two addresses in Memphis, Tennessee: 2846 Baywood Drive (the Baywood Residence) and 3176 Powell Street (the Powell Residence). The CS told the officers that transactions typically happened outside the residences after phone contact with Jefferson, but that the CS had been inside both houses to buy drugs and

had seen "large amounts of various narcotics” inside. R. 28-1, PID 71. The next day, the officers met with the CS again. At the officers' direction, the CS called me Jefferson and arranged to which occurred at the Baywood Residence, and tested the substance the CS purchased, which weighed 7.2 grams and tested positive for fentanyl.



Officers met with the CS again sometime between June 5 and June 10, 2023. The same day as that meeting, the CS called Jefferson and set up a second controlled buy for $400 worth of fentanyl. Jefferson directed the CS to the Powell Residence—an address the CS knew because the CS had previously purchased narcotics from Jefferson there. When the CS arrived, someone the CS did not know sold the CS the drugs. Officers monitored the transaction and tested the substance

the CS purchased, which weighed 7.1 grams and tested positive for fentanyl.



Officers also surveilled the Baywood Residence for several days. When vehicles pulled up in front of the house, men left the house and briefly met with the vehicles' occupants. This pattern was consistent with both of the controlled buys that the officers observed and the CS's descriptions of previous transactions with Jefferson. Officers also saw Jefferson leave the Baywood Residence and return in an orange Dodge Challenger with temporary tags that was

present during the first controlled buy.



BPD Detective John White sought and obtained a search warrant for the Baywood Residence (the Warrant) on June 10, 2023. In his affidavit in support of the warrant application (the Affidavit), White set forth the facts above and averred that he had twenty years of law- enforcement experience; that he had been assigned to the BPD Narcotics Unit since March 2022;

and that, based on his training and experience, he was familiar with the general characteristics of drug trafficking, including the use of cash, cell phones, cars, and secondary addresses; certain methods of record-keeping; and firearm possession.



When officers executed the Warrant on June 12, 2023, they found multiple unregistered firearms and ammunition: a Glock 22 .40 caliber handgun with an extended magazine and a machinegun conversion device; a stolen Glock 19X 9mm handgun with a machinegun conversion device; a Radical Firearms Model RF-15, AR-style pistol; a JTS M12AK, 12-gauge shotgun;

assorted ammunition; and a loose magazine loaded with ammunition. They also found 56 Alprazolam bars, 503.3 grams of fentanyl, and three cellphones.

The Defendant was sentenced to 57 months incarceration; 3 years supervised release to be served concurrently as to Count 2; $100.00 special assessment.



Affirmed