A Lewiston man with ties to Philadelphia has been sentenced for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

In a statement from the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Mark Brown, 37, was sentenced to 15 years and 8 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

Brown, who pleaded guilty in May to the possession charge, had purchased a rifle and a handgun in a private sale at his Lewiston apartment in January.

According to the statement, Brown had previously been convicted of four felony drug offenses in Pennsylvania.

A Sun Journal article in January quoted Assistant District Attorney Patricia Reynolds Regan as saying Brown has an “extensive criminal history,” including several felony convictions and serving two six-year sentences.

Prior to the gun related offenses, Brown was accused of stabbing a 22-year-old Lewiston woman in the buttocks after finding out she was an informant for the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency.

According to records, she told police Brown said to her, “Let me find out you’re snitching and I will blow your head off. There are plenty of woods to bury you in.”

Two days later, following an argument with a former girlfriend, Brown threatened her and other members of her family with the recently purchased rifle.

The release said Brown’s sentencing was enhanced by his status as an armed career criminal, exposing him to a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison.