Gun-Running Suspect Caught In Elmhurst Gets More Time

ELMHURST, IL – A gun-running suspect caught after cutting his electronic bracelet and leaving a funeral in Elmhurst earlier this year received more prison time, authorities said Tuesday.

Bruce Berrier, 23, formerly of Villa Park, pleaded guilty to one count of gun-running in July 2021 in DuPage County Court. He was sentenced in December to a decade in state prison.

Over the state's objection, a DuPage County judge allowed Berrier to attend his brother's funeral at Arlington Cemetery in Elmhurst on Jan. 11. He had been in the DuPage County Jail, waiting to be transferred to a state prison.

A half hour before he was supposed to return to jail, Berrier tore off the monitor, which Elmhurst police found at the cemetery, prosecutors said.

Less than two weeks later, Berrier was found at the Jewel in Glendale Heights and taken into custody.

On Tuesday, Berrier received an eight-year sentence for escaping.

“Mr. Berrier’s decision to remove his GPS monitor and run from the law in an attempt to avoid serving his previous ten-year sentence was a complete defiance of a judge’s order and a blatant show of disrespect for the criminal justice system, which ultimately cost him eight more years of his life,” DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin said in a statement.

Berrier will be required to serve half of his most recent sentence, consecutive to his previous one.