Former East Chicago councilman Robert Battle sentenced to 20 years

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HAMMOND, Ind. — A former northwestern Indiana city councilman has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for fatally shooting a man he owed a drug debt to.

U.S. District Court Judge Philip Simon sentenced Robert Battle Tuesday on the former East Chicago councilman’s man guilty plea of discharging a firearm, causing death, in relation to a drug trafficking crime. The sentence will be followed by two years of supervised release.

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Prosecutors say Battle shot 31-year-old Reimundo Camarillo Jr. in the back on Oct. 12, 2015, outside Battle’s home. Prosecutors have said that Battle was selling cocaine in East Chicago and shot the man “over a drug debt he owed Camarillo.”

Battle was elected to his second term that November while indicted on drug and murder charges.

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