CHARLESTON — A Wood County man was among three felons sentenced Friday to federal prison for gun possession, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia said.

Joshua Adam Dowler, 37, of Wood County, was sentenced to 36 months in prison for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart said.

Dowler had admitted that on April 12, 2018, he possessed a Taurus 9mm pistol while target shooting at a residence on Cain Hill Road, Stuart said. He was prohibited from possessing the firearm due to having been convicted of burglary in 2007, Stuart said.

Dowler was on parole at the time he possessed the firearm, Stuart said.

The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service, the Wood County Sheriff’s Department, the West Virginia State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. United States District Judge Irene C. Berger imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Joshua Hanks handled the prosecution.

Also sentenced were Dennis Leroy Burns II, 43, of Boone County, to 15 months in prison. He previously pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Burns admitted that on Nov. 12, 2018, he was walking along Mud River Road in Boone County when a trooper with the West Virginia State Police encountered him. The trooper investigated and ultimately located a loaded, High-Point, Model C9, 9mm pistol in a ditch just behind Burns, which Burns had possessed.

Burns was prohibited from possessing the firearm due to a 2007 felony conviction in Forsyth County Superior Court in Winston Salem, N.C., Stuart said.

Shannon Brown, 44, of Charleston received an enhanced sentence of 46 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Brown previously admitted that on June 6, he possessed a Smith and Wesson, .40-caliber handgun.

The court increased Brown’s sentence because he possessed both the firearm and cocaine, Stuart said.

Brown has two felony drug convictions from 1998 and 2004 in Kanawha County and was aware that he was prohibited from possessing a firearm, Stuart said.