Two men were sentenced in federal court Thursday in separate area cases involving the illegal possession of firearms.

According to information presented in court:

An Illinois man was sentenced to prison on drug possession charges in connection with a July 16, 2007 incident in Gordon County in which he was allegedly found in possession of nearly 10 pounds of suspected marijuana and several stolen pistols.

Frank Stewart was sentenced to 33 months in prison and three years of supervised release for the drugs, which were packaged in 11 separate vacuum-sealed packages.

Stewart faced the possibility of over a decade in prison, but Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul Jones filed a motion to dismiss the firearms charges, which would have added a mandatory five years in prison to the sentence.

The 32-year-old college graduate had no previous criminal history and reportedly was transporting the drugs to further his own habit.

Stewart admitted to agreeing to transport marijuana from Atlanta to Illinois, but told police he was unaware that firearms were also packaged with the marijuana.

Several members of Stewart’s family traveled from Illinios to speak on his behalf, telling Judge Harold L. Murphy the incident was a “lapse of judgement” and pledged further familial support for the man.

In addition, a Mexican national was sentenced to two years in prison and three years of supervised release on charges concerning the possession of a sawed-off shotgun and illegally re-entering the U.S. after being deported on two previous occasions.

On May 28, 2009 police say Uriel Rodriguez-Anchondo was in possession of a sawed-off shotgun and ammunition at a traffic stop in Walker County.

After a background check, it was determined that Rodriguez had been deported from the U.S. in 2004 and again in 2006 — however his attorney said Rodriguez was brought to the U.S. at the age of five and lived here most of his life.

“But for the documentation, he is as American as we all are here,” said Rodriguez’s attorney Michael Friedman while petitioning Judge Murphy for leniency. “Seventeen of his 22 years — he has been here.”

However, Jones said the issue is primarily about the illegal possession of a shotgun by a man who at least at one time claimed gang membership.