By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
A St. Joseph man was convicted in federal court Wednesday of illegally possessing a firearm.
Thirty-year-old Earl B. Penn was found guilty of one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm, which carries a sentence of 15 years to life in federal prison without parole.
Evidence shows that Penn was in possession of a Taurus 9-millimeter semi-automatic pistol on June 22, 2020, when he was contacted by St. Joseph Police and a Missouri State Highway Patrol officer for an outstanding warrant for violations of his federal supervised release.
Penn resisted arrest, struck the officer in the face multiple times and managed to pull pepper spray from the officer’s vest, but failed to discharge it.
After Penn was restrained, a detective saw the loaded handgun in Penn’s sweatshirt pouch.
A jury in the U.S. District Court in Kansas City deliberated for 45 minutes before returning the guilty verdict to U.S. Chief District Judge Beth Phillips Wednesday, ending a trial that began August 29th.
A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.