A federal jury late Tuesday convicted a former University City council member, Cassandra Bates Colquitt, of lying to U.S. Marshals who were hunting her brother.

In March of 2009, Marshals were looking for Colquitt's brother, Willie Brian Bates III, after he failed to show up for a court hearing on a cocaine conspiracy charge.

Colquitt lied to Deputy U.S. Marshal Dave Wilburn when she claimed to be "Sandy Colquitt," Bates' supervisor, and denied having another relationship to him, charging documents say.

Despite Wilburn's warning not to tell Bates about his arrest warrant, Colquitt told Wilburn that she told Bates about the warrant. Once Wilburn discovered the relationship in November, Colquitt denied it again, documents show.

Colquitt, 48, was convicted of one count of making a false statement to a U.S. Marshal regarding a fugitive. At trial, Colquitt brought up her former service on the city council, only to be reminded that in 2006, when she was running in the Democratic primary for the Missouri House of Representatives, she was fined for filing campaign finance reports late.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison, although Colquitt could actually face much less.

Bates was arrested in December 2009 and is currently in prison, serving a term of almost 22 years.