BANGOR, Maine — A federal judge told a Howland man to sell the gun he illegally brought to a veteran’s outpatient clinic in Lincoln and use the money to pay his $1,000 fine.
Adam James Cherry, 30, admitted Tuesday in U.S. District Court that on July 20, 2012, he walked past five signs warning people not to bring guns into the Veterans Affairs Community Based Outpatient Clinic, then, showed an employee his “newest baby,” a gun in a holster on his right hip.
Staff told Cherry he could not bring a gun into the building or onto the property, according to court documents. Three days later, Cherry returned to the facility. After an officer patted Cherry down, he said the gun was in his car.
The officer went with Cherry to his car and found a Kimber .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun on the front passenger seat under a shirt, according to court documents. It was loaded with sevens rounds of .45-caliber hollow-point bullets.
Cherry pleaded guilty Tuesday to one count of carrying a firearm on Veterans Administration property in connection with the incident. A second count concerning his showing the gun to a staff person was dismissed in a plea agreement with prosecutors.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk accepted the plea agreement but rejected Cherry’s plan to pay $50 a month toward the $1,000 fine.
Legally, Kravchuk cannot order Cherry to sell the gun, which is being held in Augusta at police headquarters of the Veterans Affairs, to pay the fine.
Cherry has three children and receives veterans disability benefits and has a limited ability to pay the fine, the judge said.
“The gun is his only asset,” Kravchuk said.
She set Aug. 30 as the date the fine is due. Kravchuk also said that if the gun were sold for less than $1,000, she would give him more time to pay the balance.
“But I expect a sizable payment by Aug. 30,” Kravchuk told Cherry.
Cherry did not say whether or not he would sell the gun before leaving the courthouse.