East St. Louis man convicted for fourth time on gun-related charges

An East St. Louis man was found guilty Tuesday for his fourth gun-related charge, police say.

Bernard Cherry, 31, was found guilty by a federal jury of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. He was arrested in December 2016 while on supervised release for two separate convictions of carrying a firearm as a felon.

He also had previous convictions in Illinois and Missouri for aggravated robbery, two counts of attempted car-jacking and another count of unlawful possession of a firearm.

East St. Louis police say they arrested Cherry when an officer encountered him at an abandoned house while responding to a call about a suspicious car. A pistol was on the ground at Cherry’s feet and he started to flee from the officer. After he was caught, Cherry admitted that he had been holding the gun, police say.

Cherry faces a maximum of ten years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 17.

This story was originally published July 26, 2017 at 12:48 PM with the headline "East St. Louis man convicted for fourth time on gun-related charges."