United States v. Burris, No. 20-1607 (6th Cir. 2021)
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In September-October 2019, Benton Harbor Detective Kovac, undercover, initiated six controlled purchases of methamphetamine, calling the same telephone number each time. The first two transactions involved Davis. The third transaction involved a different individual. Kovac recorded the license plate number on the individual’s truck, determined that it was registered to Burris at an Agard Avenue address, and used the driver’s license photo to confirm Burris's identity. During the following three transactions, officers saw Davis go to and from the Agard address to meet Kovac. At the fifth meeting, Kovac asked for extra methamphetamine. Officers watched Davis walk to the Agard Avenue address, and enter the residence.
After the final controlled purchase, Davis was arrested in the yard of Burris’s Agard residence. Officers saw Burris exit from the backdoor and flee, clutching something. Burris crossed an alley, jumped a fence, and crossed Union Street. Burris was apprehended, carrying cash, a cell phone, and a loaded firearm. When the officers searched the path that Burris had followed, they found a bag containing methamphetamine at the location where Burris had jumped the fence. In Burris’s residence, officers found two additional firearms and a digital scale. Convicted of three counts related to methamphetamine and of being a felon in possession of a firearm, Burris was sentenced to 180 months’ imprisonment. The Sixth Circuit affirmed. Sufficient evidence supported the drug convictions under any standard.
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