United States v. Christopher Funchess ( 2023 )

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[Unpublished]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.
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