Man sentenced for illegally possessing gun

A 28-year-old Covington man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to illegally possessing a gun, District Attorney Walter Reed spokesman Rick Wood said.

Gregory Vernon entered the plea moments before his jury trial was expected to start Wednesday.

“Apparently he thought about it and after the jury was sworn in he felt like he would throw himself on the mercy of the court,” Wood said.

As a convicted felon, Vernon faced up to 15 years in prison for possessing the gun under Louisiana law. State District Court Judge Reginald Badeaux ordered the minimum sentence, a decade with no possibility of parole, probation or suspension of sentence.

Vernon was arrested May 21, 2007, when Sheriff’s Office deputies stopped a vehicle driven by an unidentified female friend.

“At the time of the stop, the defendant said (the gun) belonged to him, then he changed his mind,” prompting the trial, Wood said.

Vernon was tried as a convicted felon in possession of a gun after two 1998 convictions for possession of cocaine within a 1,000 feet of a school and distribution of schedule II narcotics, Wood said.