After Newark police officer Eddie Gonzalez was convicted of harassing a 14-year-old neighbor, he was fired.

Eddie Gonzalez. (Essex County Correctional Facility)

After he continued to use his uniform to obtain favors around town, prosecutors said, he was arrested and convicted of impersonating an officer and filing false police reports against his ex-girlfriend.

Now Gonzalez, 39, faces three to five years in prison for failing to turn over two handguns in the wake of a temporary restraining order.

A jury sitting before Superior Court Judge Nancy Sivilli on Thursday convicted Gonzalez of two counts of possessing weapons as a prohibited person, the Essex County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement. After a two-day trial, prosecutors said, it took the jury just 55 minutes to return the guilty verdicts.

At the heart of Gonzalez's case is what Assistant Prosecutor Tony Gutierrez described in a statement as the former cop's knowing disregard for the restraining order, obtained by a former girlfriend who accused Gonzalez of stalking and harassing her.

Prosecutor's detectives, a Newark police tactical team and Essex County sheriff's officers in March served a search warrant at Gonzalez's home after learning he might be in possession of the handguns despite the restraining order, the prosecutor's office said.

Gonazlez, Gutierrez said, "chose to disregard an order of the court when he knew that he had an affirmative duty to surrender the two handguns that we ultimately discovered in his home."

Gonzalez, who was free on bail while awaiting sentencing in the impersonation case, was immediately jailed at the Essex County Correctional Facility following his conviction Thursday.

The prosecutor's office said it plans to seek consecutive sentences for Gonzalez in the two cases. He faces a minimum of 18 months in prison on the impersonation conviction alone, authorities said.

Information regarding Gonzalez's most recent defense attorney could not immediately be located Thursday evening.

Thomas Moriarty may be reached at tmoriarty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ThomasDMoriarty. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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