A 33-year-old Wyoming man has been sentenced to 22 months in federal prison for possession of a firearm and controlled substances.
Michael A. Mitchell was convicted after being found with illegal drugs and a firearm during an encounter with police in Cheyenne earlier this year.
On April 13, Cheyenne Police officers approached Mitchell, who was found sleeping in his van at a gas station parking lot. Officers noticed a hatchet under his seat and detected the smell of marijuana. After asking him to step out of the vehicle, they conducted a search, discovering a .22-caliber revolver on Mitchell and multiple controlled substances inside his van. The drugs included 12 ounces of marijuana, 3.31 grams of Xanax, 3.75 grams of fentanyl, and 1.13 grams of methamphetamine.
Mitchell, a convicted felon, was not legally allowed to possess a firearm. He was indicted the same day and later pleaded guilty on July 11. US District Court Judge Kelly H. Rankin sentenced him to nearly two years in prison on October 15. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Cheyenne Police Department investigated the case, with Assistant US Attorney Michael J. Elmore leading the prosecution.
With input from K2 Radio.
