JEFFERSON COUNTY — A 20-year-old Mt. Vernon man has been sentenced in Jefferson County court to 20 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections after a Jefferson County jury previously found him guilty on all charges.

Jamaro Kemmerling was sentenced on two Class X charges for armed violence, as well as Class 2 felony charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm with a prior conviction and possession of a converted firearm and two Class 4 felony charges for aggravated fleeing police.

Kemmerling was arrested in February following a brief police pursuit on the south-side of Mt. Vernon where he reportedly got his vehicle stuck in a yard.

He then allegedly fled on foot a short distance before Mt. Vernon officers surrounded him and successfully took him in to custody.

A search of his vehicle revealed a firearm, which combined with his criminal history led to Class X charges for armed violence, as well as Class 2 felony charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm with a prior conviction and possession of a converted firearm.

The jury deliberated for two hours in June before arriving at their verdict of guilty on all counts.