U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 2026

United States v. Gardner

United States v. Gardner
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit · Decided August 20, 2026
United States v. Gardner

Opinion

Case: 25-50730 Document: 71-1 Page: 1 Date Filed: 08/20/2026

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit ____________ FILED August 20, 2026 No. 25-50730 Summary Calendar Lyle W. Cayce ____________ Clerk

United States of America, Plaintiff—Appellee, versus Antonio Maurice Gardner, Defendant—Appellant. ______________________________ Appeal from the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas USDC No. 6:18-CR-330-1 ______________________________ Before Smith, Southwick, and Oldham, Circuit Judges.

Per Curiam:* Antonio Maurice Gardner appeals his conviction and sentence for possession with the intent to distribute methamphetamine. He challenges the district court’s denial of his motion to suppress and its calculation of his criminal history score. He also raises a claim of ineffective assistance of counsel.

Case: 25-50730 Document: 71-1 Page: 2 Date Filed: 08/20/2026

No. 25-50730

The affidavit supporting the search warrant did not contain “wholly conclusory statements” and was not bare bones. United States v. Weaver, 171 F.4th 780, 785 (5th Cir. 2026) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted); see United States v. McKnight, 953 F.2d 898, 904-05 (5th Cir. 1992).

As a result, the good faith exception to the exclusionary rule applies, and the district court did not err in denying the motion to suppress. See Weaver, 171 F.4th at 785.

We do not address Gardner’s argument that the district court erred in calculating his criminal history score because he waived this objection at sentencing. See United States v. Rico, 864 F.3d 381, 383-84 (5th Cir. 2017).

Finally, because the record is not sufficiently developed to allow us to make a fair evaluation of Gardner’s ineffective assistance of counsel claim, we decline to consider it without prejudice to collateral review. See United States v. Isgar, 739 F.3d 829, 841 (5th Cir. 2014).

AFFIRMED.

* This opinion is not designated for publication. See 5th Cir. R. 47.5.

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