Judge sentences Bertrand man to 63 months in federal prison for possessing firearms

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. — A Bertrand man was sentenced to serve over five years in prison after pleading guilty to being a previously convicted felon in possession of firearms.

Benjie Kizer, 25, was sentenced to serve 63 months in federal prison after being sentenced by United States District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr. at the federal courthouse in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Tuesday.

According to court documents, on March 18, 2021, officers with the Cape Girardeau Police Department made contact with Benjie Kizer and an associate in the parking lot of The Outlet Convenience Store in Cape Girardeau after a report of a domestic assault by the associate.

Kizer had active warrants out for his arrest and he was placed in handcuffs and secured in a police vehicle. A search was conducted of the vehicle that Kizer was operating at the time of the police inquiry. Two loaded firearms with extended capacity magazines were recovered from the vehicle along with a quantity of cocaine, marijuana, drug paraphernalia, and U.S. currency totaling over $2,000.

Kizer was transported to the Cape Girardeau Police Department and interviewed by law enforcement officers. He admitted to possessing the firearms found in the vehicle. Kizer was shown pictures from Facebook of himself holding different firearms, and Kizer admitted that he posed for those pictures.

Kizer was previously convicted of the felony offense of Vandalism in Shelby County, Tennessee, and is therefore prohibited from possessing firearms.

This case was investigated by the Cape Girardeau Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Assistant United States Attorney Julie Hunter handled the prosecution for the government.