A man charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm appeared in Baxter County Circuit Court Monday and entered a guilty plea.
Thirty-seven-year-old Michael James Kerley, who lists an address in Jordan, claims he traded two lamps and a microwave for a Smith and Wesson .22 caliber semi-automatic rifle.
The owner of the gun told investigators no such trade ever took place. She reported to the Baxter County Sheriff’s office that in late October last year Kerley had stolen the weapon from her residence along Winterberry Drive in Salesville.
Kerley ran into more problems when he admitted he had picked up felony convictions in Arizona but claimed his record had been expunged.
When a sheriff’s investigator checked, he found records in the Superior Court for Yavapi County, Arizona that showed felony convictions for Kerley, but no proof that the charges had been expunged.
The records in the Arizona court showed Kerley had been charged with second degree attempted burglary and three counts of theft.
Kerley was contacted and told that his claim was not holding up. He is alleged to have told the investigator that he would have to get a lawyer and go before a judge to “get his rights back.”
Kerley also said he had served time in prison.
According to the probable cause affidavit, Kerley continued to claim he had traded household goods for the rifle in what he said was a “private sale.”
The charge of stealing the gun was dismissed.
Kerley was given four years probation.
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