Robert Durst Sentenced to 7 Years on Weapons Conviction

Robert Durst, the real estate heir and alleged murderer, has been sentenced to serve seven years and one month in prison on a weapons charge, PEOPLE confirms.

On Wednesday in New Orleans, U.S. District Judge Kurt Engelhardt approved the sentence, which was part of Durst's guilty plea in February, a press release obtained by PEOPLE from the Department of Justice states.

The 73-year-old originally faced up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for illegally carrying a .38-caliber revolver, PEOPLE confirms.

Durst still faces a murder charge in California in the 2000 death of friend Susan Berman. Durst allegedly killed Berman to prevent her from speaking with prosecutors about the disappearance of Durst's first wife, Kathleen, who went missing in 1982.

On Monday, Durst's attorney filed a motion for his client to serve his time at Terminal Island, California, where he would be closer to the trial venue and medical facilities, court documents obtained by PEOPLE state.

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In March 2015, a Los Angeles judge signed an arrest warrant for Durst for the alleged murder of Berman. Days later, Durst was discovered in a New Orleans hotel where he had checked in under the alias "Everette Ward," the press release states.

A room search performed by the FBI uncovered a .38-caliver revolver, a mask and over $40,000 in cash, the press release states. Durst was indicted in April for the weapons charge.

Durst was the subject of HBO's six-part documentary series, The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst. He has been investigated in connection with the deaths of three people: The disappearance of his wife Kathleen in 1982, the 2000 shooting death of Berman, and the 2001 killing and dismemberment of neighbor Morris Black. He has maintained his innocence in all three cases.

Earlier this year, the family of Kathleen Durst petitioned a New York court to formally declare her dead.

The petition was part of the family's multimillion dollar "right of sepulcher" lawsuit, claiming Durst has denied the family its right to choose a method of burial for their relative, who, they say, is deceased.

While initially identified as a person of interest in the case, Durst has never been charged with Kathleen's murder.

Durst ignored his attorney's advice when he served as the subject of The Jinx. During filming, Durst appeared to mutter to himself that he'd "killed them all, of course." He was allegedly unaware the filmmaker's microphones were still recording at the time.

In an interview with PEOPLE, Durst's attorney, Dick DeGuerin, said the show's creators "were out to get [Durst] from the very get-go" and that Durst was "tricked into thinking he would get a fair opportunity to explain himself after being under unfair suspicion for almost all of his adult life in the disappearance of his wife."

DeGuerin added, "Now, he's unfairly suspected of killing Ms. Berman because of this entertainment program being creatively edited to make it look like he was either confessing or that there is new evidence when there is not," DeGuerin says. "He is eager to finally get have his say in court, at his trial, in front of a jury and not with somebody who was only out to get an Emmy."