HUNTINGTON, WV (WVNS) — A man was sentenced on Monday, January 30, 2023, to five years and four months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

According to court documents, Melvin Theophilius Hill, 38, of Ashland, Kentucky, on May 2, 2022, police officers conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle driven by Hill near 13th Street and Ninth Avenue in Huntington.

Officers then searched the vehicle and found a loaded FN 509 9mm handgun in the passenger seat. Hill later admitted to possessing the firearm and placing it where officers found it during the search.

Federal law prohibits a person with a prior felony conviction from possessing a firearm or ammunition. Hill knew of his prior convictions which were second-degree robbery on May 9, 2008, and first-degree possession of a controlled substance on January 12, 2011.