Skowhegan man sentenced on firearms possession charge

BANGOR – A Skowhegan man was sentenced to 15 months in prison Tuesday after earlier pleading guilty to the unlawful possession of a firearm after being convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence.

Shawn Denis, 33, was ordered to report to a federal prison, yet to be selected, on Nov. 28.

The sentencing took place at U.S. District Court in Bangor. U.S. District Judge George Z. Singal presided.

Indicted a few months ago by a federal grand jury, Denis was ordered to undergo three years of supervised release following his prison term.

Denis was arrested in March 2000 after a Skowhegan home in which he lived was searched by the Somerset County Sheriff’s Department. Seven pounds of marijuana, $4,800 in cash and a loaded AK-47 rifle were seized.

His wife, Laurie Rogers Denis, testified at the federal court hearing Wednesday that she knew nothing about her husband’s drug business. The judge noted that he found such lack of knowledge incredible.

Denis initially was charged with a felony drug count but that eventually was reduced to a misdemeanor for which he was sentenced last year in Somerset County Superior Court in Skowhegan. Further information on the Skowhegan court procedure could not be obtained Wednesday.