Man pleads guilty to gun charge

A Cape Girardeau man pleaded guilty Friday to being a previously convicted felon in possession of firearms.

Derrick Williams, 23, appeared before U.S. Judge Henry E. Autrey.

According to the federal court, two rifles were stolen from a car in Cape Girardeau County on June 22, 2003. On July 24, a resident took two firearms into Shooters Supply in Cape Girardeau and asked for an appraisal. The store employee recognized the rifles as those his store sold to the victim. Police traced the possession of the firearms to Williams, who later admitted that he knew the guns were stolen.

Williams had previously been convicted in 1999 in the U.S District Court for the Southern District of California for felony importation of marijuana.

He now faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He will be sentenced Oct. 13.