DuPage County State’s Attorney
has announced that a Villa Park man accused of illegally selling multiple guns on four separate occasions to undercover police officers has been sentenced to 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Bruce Berrier, 22, appeared in court t in front of Judge Jeffrey MacKay, who handed down the sentence.
On July 2, Berrier entered a plea of guilty to one count of gunrunning, a Class 1 felony. On Dec. 4, 2020, Berrier appeared in bond court where bond was set at $300,000 with 10 percent to apply. He has remained in custody at the DuPage County Jail since that time.
Through the course of an ongoing investigation conducted by the North Central Narcotics Task Force into illegal activities, Berrier was identified as a suspect in the illegal selling of guns in DuPage County.
On Sept. 28, 2020, an undercover officer contacted Berrier through Snapchat about purchasing a gun from him. The agent subsequently met with Berrier and purchased a .22 caliber firearm and multiple rounds of ammunition from him. On three more occasions, the final being on Nov. 24, 2020, the agent purchased three additional firearms and ammunition from Berrier.
The illegal sales of the firearms took place in Roselle and Hanover Park. On Dec. 3, 2020, authorities executed a search warrant at Berrier’s home. He was taken into custody at this time.
“Armed violence continues to plague our communities causing citizens to live in fear of becoming the next victim of a violent crime,” Berlin said. “More often than not, the guns used in these crimes are illegally obtained from people such as Mr. Berrier, who seek to line their own pockets at the expense of our communities’ safety. Thankfully, the weapons Mr. Berrier sold did not make it into the hands of those who would use them to commit violent crimes.
“I commend the ongoing, pro-active work of the North Central Narcotics Task Force into illegal gun sales. While we will never know for sure, their work on this case may have prevented a tragedy from occurring.”
Berrier will be required to serve 75 percent of his sentence before being eligible for parole.
