A 26-year-old Hoquiam man was sentenced to six months in jail over an incident where he was accused of showing a weapon while asking for tobacco.
Jason L. Conway was sentenced Monday in Grays Harbor Superior Court for unlawful possession of a firearm. Conway was not allowed to possess a firearm after a 2011 identity theft conviction. On Oct. 7, a Hoquiam Police officer was approached by a man outside a convenience store who said Conway had asked for tobacco, then opened his coat to display a shotgun barrel in his pants.
The officer found Conway walking nearby and asked if he had any weapons. According to court documents, Conway replied, “Well, I have a shotgun.”
Officers seized the barrel, and the rest of the weapon was found in a backpack Conway had been wearing.
Judge Gordon Godfrey went a month beyond the prosecutor’s recommendation in his sentencing.
“I’m not a fan of guns,” he told Conway. “You keep your hands off them.”
