Felon with guns to be sentenced, March 16

A former Coos County male was found guilty by a Federal Court jury Thursday, March 12, in Eugene, on eight-counts of being a Felon in Possession of a Firearm. Fifty-year old Thomas William Cornelius could be sentenced to life in prison because of a lengthy rap sheet that includes gun crimes and a series of armed, residential burglaries between Port Orford and Florence. Cornelius is expected to be sentenced in June. He was originally arrested near Reedsport in May 2011. During a police stop, he was found to be in possession of stolen guns while on supervised release after serving 15 years in prison for Robbery and Assault. Evidence offered at his trial showed he had participated in 28 burglaries in which jewelry, firearms and other items were stolen. Cornelius is also awaiting sentencing in Yamhill County for a pair of violent attacks on other prisoners while at the Sheridan Federal Correctional Institution.