Felon gets 19 years for gun possession

A man previously convicted of attempted murder and several drug charges has been sentenced to more than 19 years in prison for gun possession.

Demone Rule, 37, was convicted last year of illegal possession of a firearm by a felon, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office. On Thursday, U.S. District Judge John Robert Blakey sentenced him to 19 years and seven months in federal prison.

Chicago Police officers spotted Rule committing a traffic violation in a green Buick on the evening of Dec. 27, 2015, prosecutors said. They pulled the Buick over, but when they approached it Rule sped off.

He left the car in the middle of the street several blocks away with the keys still in the ignition and tried to run away, prosecutors said. Police took him into custody in a vacant lot and found a gun in his waistband with six live rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber.

Rule was previously convicted of attempted murder and multiple drug charges in 1997, as well as possession of a controlled substance in 2011 and manufacture or delivery of heroin in 2013, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records.

Rule’s sentence was enhanced because of his previous convictions, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. The Armed Career Criminal Act of 1984 calls for enhanced sentences for gun offenses by felons who have been convicted of certain crimes at least three times.