Thirty-five-year-old Lowell T. Ford was found guilty last month (5-22-14) of two counts of possessing a weapon, one count of possessing heroin with the intent to sell it and one count of possessing methamphetamine.

The conviction stems from events on June 25, 2012. According to the original police complaint, Sitka police Sergeant Walt Smith saw Ford walking near the True Value Hardware store around 4 AM, stopped him, and found a knife sticking out of Ford’s bag. Ford was arrested for violating the conditions of his release from a prior conviction, and a later search of his belongings turned up 18 small packages of heroin and two glass smoking pipes — one of which tested positive for methamphetamine — as well as a semi-automatic .45 caliber handgun.

Ford faced the possibility of a longer sentence, but the court determined that the amounts of heroin and methamphetamine involved were small enough to count as mitigating factors in his sentencing. This was Ford’s third felony conviction.