Sep 22, 2016 2 min read

A Washington County jury Tuesday found a Donora man guilty of two felony firearm violations stemming from a traffic stop in March.

Donora police charged Kenneth L. Pone, 34, of 501 McKean Ave., March 5 with possession of firearm prohibited and carrying a firearm without a license after officers found him in the back seat of a car with a handgun on the seat next to him. Police said Pone, who as a convicted felon is barred from possessing a gun, had an empty holster in his waistband.

Assistant District Attorney Rachel Wheeler said the weapon had been reported stolen from a man’s house in West Newton, Westmoreland County, in August 2015.

“It was never really confirmed how he ended up with it,” she said.

No one else has been charged in connection with the case. Wheeler said Pone was the only person in the back seat of the car.

A Donora officer wrote in an affidavit of probable cause supporting charges against Pone that a check of his criminal history revealed previous convictions on charges of burglary and robbery.

The jury returned the verdict in the evening following a trial that began earlier in the day.

Judge Michael Lucas ordered a presentencing investigation by the adult probation office. A date has not been set for sentencing. At the time police brought the gun charges, Pone was serving a term of probation on the burglary charge.

Lucas revoked Pone’s probation and will resentence him on that earlier offense along with the firearms violations, Wheeler said.