Jackson man sentenced to 6 years on firearm charge

A Jackson man was sentenced to six years in prison Wednesday on one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Gabriel D. Housman, 25, entered a plea of guilty in U.S. Federal Court on Sept. 18 before U.S. District Judge John A. Ross, and faced a maximum punishment of 10 years imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

Officers saw Housman seated in the front passenger seat of a vehicle parked outside of a Cape Girardeau apartment building May 9, according to court records.

A statement from the United States Attorney’s Office said officers knew Housman had an outstanding warrant for his arrest. Housman was alone and complied with officers’ commands to exit the vehicle, according to the statement.

Officers recovered a semi-automatic pistol from the passenger side of the vehicle where Housman had been sitting, and a magazine with 33 live rounds was found inserted into the pistol.

Housman has prior convictions in Cape Girardeau County for charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and unlawful use of a weapon by exhibiting, according to the statement.

In 2015, Housman was arrested in connection to a July 28 shooting in the parking lot of a Cape Girardeau apartment building in the 200-block of South Hanover Street. Housman was also charged that year for involvement in an Oct. 29 fight at the Cape Girardeau County Jail.