Marterius Brown

A Lawrence County man pleaded guilty in court Thursday to having a stolen gun during an incident on Nov. 20 on Collingwood Court, Cranberry Township.

Marterius R. Brown, 27, of New Castle, pleaded guilty to felony receiving stolen property before Butler County President Judge Thomas Doerr, who immediately sentenced Brown in accordance with the plea agreement to 1 to 2 years incarceration that can be served in Butler County Prison.

Brown was also given time served credit, which his attorney, Assistant Public Defender Charles Nedz, said is about 6 months, and was work release and community service eligible.

Cranberry Township police filed the charges after a woman called 911 to report that two men were looking at her through her bedroom window around 5 a.m., before running away.

When police arrived, a man was found coming out from among a number of large pine trees along Rochester Road and behind the woman's apartment building.

The man identified himself and claimed that he and his brother — Brown — had run out of gas, police said, but was unable to say why they were in Cranberry Township or where their car was.

A short time later Brown appeared walking on Rochester Road in back of the same apartment building. He was carrying a red, plastic 5-gallon gas can.

Police said Brown was patted down for safety concerns, and found with a snub-nose .32-caliber revolver in his right jacket pocket, that he claimed belonged to his sister.

Both men were taken to the police station. A check of the National Crime Information Center database showed the revolver had been reported stolen out of Mahoning Township, Lawrence County. Police also discovered that Brown's criminal record included a felony conviction, prohibiting him from possessing a firearm.