A search warrant conducted at the Butler home of a drug felon turned up a handgun, authorities said, as well as other contraband.

The finding of the firearm led to an arrest warrant for 37-year-old Matthew Souverin, who is barred under state law from having any guns because of his criminal record.

Souverin was not at his rental home on Spang Avenue when members of the state police's Special Emergency Response Team executed the sealed search warrant just after 6 a.m. Friday.

State police vice officers subsequently searched the house, investigators said, and found a Forehand & Wadsworth pocket revolver, digital scales, unknown pills, plastic baggies and smoking pipes.

Officers said they also found several items of indicia of the defendant's residency at the home, including a rental/lease agreement for him.

In Pennsylvania, people convicted of a felony are prohibited from possessing firearms. Police noted in charging documents that Souverin was convicted in 2010 of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance, a felony.

District Judge William Fullerton issued an arrest warrant Friday for Souverin on a felony charge of persons not to possess firearms and a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia.