United States v. Christopher Funchess

Opinion

United States Court of Appeals For the Eighth Circuit

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No. 22-3563

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United States of America

Plaintiff - Appellee

v.

Christopher Funchess, also known as C-Murder

Defendant - Appellant

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

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Submitted: April 11, 2023 Filed: May 15, 2023

[Unpublished]

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Before BENTON, GRASZ, and STRAS, Circuit Judges.

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PER CURIAM.

After repeatedly violating the conditions of supervised release, Christopher Funchess received a seven-month prison sentence. Although he questions the seriousness of the violations, we affirm.

We conclude that the district court 1 did not abuse its discretion when it sent Funchess back to prison. See United States v. Melton, 666 F.3d 513, 516 (8th Cir. 2012) (reviewing for an abuse of discretion). For one thing, he repeatedly used marijuana, an illegal drug under federal law, even though he was required to “refrain from any unlawful use of a controlled substance.” (Emphasis added); see 21 U.S.C. § 812(c). He is not entitled to a break just because the illegal drug happened to be marijuana. See United States v. Schostag, 895 F.3d 1025, 1027–28 (8th Cir. 2018) (explaining that the “use of marijuana—even for medical purposes—contravenes federal law”). For another, he tried to cover up his drug use by “diluting” his test samples. A “pervasive unwillingness” to follow drug-testing conditions is serious, all the more so for someone like Funchess with a history of drug dealing. Melton, 666 F.3d at 516; see United States v. Graves, 914 F.2d 159, 160–61 (8th Cir. 1990) (per curiam) (affirming a revocation sentence after a defendant missed drug-testing appointments).

We accordingly affirm the judgment of the district court.

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1 The Honorable Linda J. Reade, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Iowa.