Convicted felon gets 10 years for selling gun to pawn shop

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) - A convicted felon has been sentenced to prison for 10 years for selling a handgun to a Gulfport pawn shop.

The Sun Herald reports (https://bit.ly/1OBmyh5) 32-year-old Willie Ed Smith Jr. is the man authorities said tried to run out of a courtroom Wednesday when an alarm signaling a bomb threat sounded while his jury verdict was being read.

A Harrison County jury found Smith guilty of a felon in possession of a firearm for the gun sale on March 19, 2013.

Circuit Judge Chris Schmidt sentenced Smith as a habitual offender Monday. Smith won’t be eligible for early release from prison.

Officials say it is Smith’s fourth felony conviction. Two of them were drug convictions.

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Information from: The Sun Herald, https://www.sunherald.com