United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit ___________________________

No. 24-1384 ___________________________

United States of America

Plaintiff - Appellee

v.

Dennis Wayne Hager

Defendant - Appellant ____________

Appeal from United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa - Cedar Rapids ____________

Submitted: February 10, 2025 Filed: May 15, 2025 [Unpublished] ____________

Before SMITH, KELLY, and KOBES, Circuit Judges. ____________

PER CURIAM.

Dennis Wayne Hager pleaded guilty to two counts of distribution of a controlled substance, 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(A), one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, id., and one count of possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, 18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g)(1), (g)(3), and 924(a)(2). The district court 1 sentenced him to 235 months in prison, the bottom of his Guidelines range.

Hager argues that the district court gave too much weight to his criminal history and offense conduct and not enough weight to other facts—the firearm was only present in his house, not used in the drug transactions; he was a mid-level dealer, not a street dealer; he suffers from substance abuse issues; and he is older and has health issues. But the district court considered those mitigating circumstances against aggravating ones, including Hager’s extensive criminal history, his distribution of “very large quantities of methamphetamine for large amounts of cash,” that he was arrested and continued selling drugs while on probation, and that—at age 64—he had not aged out of criminal behavior.

That the district court weighed the aggravating circumstances more heavily than Hager would have liked does not mean his sentence is substantively unreasonable. See 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a) (factors to be considered in imposing sentence); United States v. Farmer, 647 F.3d 1175, 1179 (8th Cir. 2011) (“Simply because the district court weighed relevant factors . . . more heavily than [the defendant] would prefer does not mean the district court abused its discretion.”).

Affirmed. ______________________________

1 The Honorable C.J. Williams, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. -2-