CHICAGO, IL – The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed the sentence of Arthur Runnels, who was convicted in 2023 for cocaine distribution and firearm possession while on supervised release.
Runnels was arrested by federal authorities for possessing and distributing cocaine and for being a felon in possession of a firearm. At the time of his arrest, he was already under supervised release from a prior conviction.
Following a consolidated hearing, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois sentenced Runnels to 90 months in prison for the new charges, along with an additional 57 months for violating his supervised release. Runnels appealed, arguing the 90-month sentence was above the federal sentencing guidelines and lacked proper justification.
The appellate panel, composed of Judges Scudder, St. Eve, and Maldonado, found no error in the district court’s decision and upheld the sentence in full.
