A 28-year-old Selma resident was sentenced to two years in prison for possession of a firearm after a felony.

U.S. Attorney Richard W. Moore announced this week that James Thomas was possessing a CZ, .40 caliber pistol. Thomas.

Thomas pled guilty pursuant to a plea agreement on April 19. In open court on Dec. 19, a Selma Police Department officer conducted a traffic stop of a Nissan Altima driven by Thomas with no tag displayed.

As the officer approached the vehicle, he smelled marijuana coming from the car and saw passengers inside the vehicle with Thomas.  The officer asked for and received Thomas’s driver’s license. Thomas said that he just purchased the vehicle and did not have insurance.

The officer returned to his vehicle to run a check on Thomas’ license and wait for the additional officers he radioed for after smelling marijuana.  When the additional officers arrived, the original officer asked Thomas to exit his vehicle and he did.

The officer asked Thomas if there were any weapons inside the vehicle. Thomas said no weapons were inside and gave verbal consent to search it.  During the search, police found a large cookie jar containing marijuana. Officers also found a CZ, model CZ75B, .40 caliber pistol under the front seat.

Thomas knowingly possessed the firearm.  An additional quantity of marijuana was seized from a passenger’s sock.

At the time of the stop, Thomas was convicted of manslaughter on July 26, 2013 in the Dallas County Circuit Court.  Because of the felony conviction, Thomas was prohibited from possessing a firearm.

As part of Thomas’ plea, he forfeited any and all interest in the CZ, model CZ75B, .40 caliber pistol. He also forfeited any and all interest in a Taurus, model PT-25, .25 caliber pistol, seized from the vehicle he was driving on January 19.

The SPD, Dallas County Sheriff’s Office and special agents of the ATF investigated the case and they brought it to the U.S. Attorney’s office for prosecution.