Sentence vacated in C.R.-area check fraud

A federal appellate court has vacated the sentence of a Chicago man who was convicted of check fraud in Cedar Rapids - a ruling that comes just one month after an Illinois court vacated the man's sentence for a Chicago slaying.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruled that Kendrick Butler, 25, must be resentenced for his role in a two-man check fraud scheme in Cedar Rapids that involved between $30,000 and $70,000.

A jury in 2009 found Butler guilty of six counts of bank fraud, for which he was sentenced to 80 months in prison.

Evidence at trial showed that Butler recruited local people to cash fraudulent checks at banks and credit unions in and around Cedar Rapids, and he received a portion of the money from the scam, according to Gazette archives.

But the appellate court vacated the sentence, ruling that the court had erred in adding time for use of counterfeiting equipment. The appellate court found that Butler's scheme did not involve such equipment.

Last month, an appellate court in Illinois ruled that Butler's sentence be vacated for two murder convictions.

Mount Vernon police in 2007 stumbled upon Butler while investigating a string of local burglaries, according to Gazette archives. Investigators turned up a connection to the shooting death of a 20-year-old man at a Chicago intersection.

Two years later, he was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to two consecutive terms that totaled 80 years in prison.

But on June 30, an appellate court ruled that, with only one murder victim, Butler could not be convicted on two counts of murder. The court suggested that Butler be sentenced to the same term length, but for one count of murder with a 30-year enhancement for his use of a firearm.