NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — A three-time convicted felon was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison Monday.

Court documents say officers found a semi-automatic handgun with a loaded magazine, a small bag of marijuana, a scale, and three small bags of cocaine base at 45-year-old Sean Gregory Mitchell’s apartment in June 2015. The officers had obtained a search warrant after detecting the smell of marijuana while on bike patrol at the apartment complex. 

Mitchell’s previous felony convictions included possession of a firearm in 1997, and distribution of cocaine base and use of a communication facility in the distribution of cocaine base in 2003 in federal court. Mitchell’s prior state convictions include assault and battery, trespassing, unlawful wounding, and possession of marijuana. 

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, G. Zachary Terwilliger said,

Keeping firearms out of the hands of convicted felons is a top priority. This is a public safety and law enforcement safety issue that I am 100 percent committed to. We will continue to aggressively pursue these cases and work with our partners at the ATF to remove violent criminals like Mitchell from our communities.”