A former Lake County deputy was convicted Thursday after a four-day trial of selling a gun from the sheriff’s office evidence room last year.

William Berry was found guilty of embezzlement and official misconduct, county prosecutors said in a news release Friday morning. Authorities say he also took three rifles, two of which he kept for himself, using the third as a gift.

In April 2014, Berry was found to have sold the gun when a citizen complained that he had paid for, but not received, the weapon from Berry, the release said. The report triggered an investigation by prosecutors and Berry’s subsequent arrest.

The gun Berry sold was a .38 Colt semi-automatic handgun, which had been seized as evidence during a domestic violence investigation Berry initiated as the responding officer, the release said.

“Berry later removed the seized firearms from the evidence room and duped the wife of the accused in the domestic violence incident into transferring ownership to him for $500 cash,” according to the release. “Testimony by the domestic violence victim during the trial established that Berry, when asked whether the transfer ‘was legal,’ said ‘of course, I’m a representative of the law, if I come to you with this offer it is legal.’ “

The gun was recovered and returned to authorities.

Berry is scheduled to be sentenced on July 10 and faces up to three years in prison.

A second man, Jeff Hartman, who worked in the sheriff’s office evidence room, has pleaded not guilty in the case and is next due in court on June 12.

Authorities say Hartman helped Berry in his scheme and was given a rifle Berry took from evidence as a “thank you” gift.

Jesse Paul: 303-954-1733, jpaul@denverpost.com or twitter.com/JesseAPaul

Correction: Due to a source’s error, an earlier version of this story erroneously reported the number of guns Berry is convicted of selling. It was one.