Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

Donald S. Boyce, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois, announced that Tuesday afternoon, a federal jury in East St. Louis found Bernard L. Cherry, 31, of East St. Louis, Illinois, guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon.

Evidence at trial showed that on December 13, 2016, an East St. Louis officer responding to a 911 call about a suspicious vehicle encountered Cherry in the yard of an abandoned house. A .40 caliber pistol was on the ground at Cherry’s feet. Cherry attempted to flee from the officer but was eventually apprehended. During a statement to police, he admitted to having the gun in his hand.

At the time of his arrest Cherry was on supervised release in two separate federal cases after convictions for felon in possession of a firearm. Cherry also had prior state convictions in both Illinois and Missouri for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, aggravated robbery and attempted aggravated vehicular hijacking. Cherry faces a maximum of ten years in prison. Sentencing has been scheduled for November 17, 2017, in front of the Honorable David R. Herndon.

The investigation into this crime was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the East St. Louis Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Chris Hoell and Derek Wiseman.

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