By Cali Bagby

Journal editor

Ezra John Ferchen, 32, of Lopez Island, has plead guilty to two counts of unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree. He was sentenced to three months of jail time for each count. Deputies came to the Ferchen home on Jan. 30 to deliver the 32 year-old an eviction notice and to take him into custody for an outstanding warrant for arrest for a failure to appear at a hearing in San Juan County District Court.

When Ferchen came to the door the responding deputies documented that they asked Ferchen to step outside, as a growling dog was in the home. According to the deputy’s report, Ferchen stepped outside, and after Ferchen was notified that he would be taken into custody, he asked to go back inside his residence to get his wallet. The deputy escorted Ferchen back into the house notifying Ferchen that it was for officer safety issues. Once inside the home, the deputy observed a SKS rifle in the doorway. The deputy then placed Ferchen in the back of his patrol car and called dispatch.

Dispatch then provided the deputy with a prior notice of ineligibility to possess firearms issued to the suspect in 2013 after he committed assault in the fourth degree against his brother. According to the deputy he was then granted a warrant to search the residence for firearms. He discovered nine guns as well as ammunition.

Ferchen’s criminal record involves prior misdemeanors of assault in the fourth degree, driving under the influence in 2013 and possession of marijuana in 2006.