A man who walked into a Washington Court House pawn shop and stole a handgun was sentenced in court to serve a two-year prison sentence.

Anthony A. Garcia, 41, of Washington C.H., was sentenced to prison Wednesday in the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas to one charge of grand theft, a third-degree felony.

Reports filed in court from the Washington C.H. Police Department say that Garcia walked into Top Dollar Pawn Aug. 5 and asked an employee to look at handguns in the case. The reports state Garcia had been a known pawn loan customer at the shop for over a year.

An employee of Top Dollar Pawn wrote in statement to the police department, “Anthony Garcia came in for a pawn loan and wanted to look at a firearm and decided to purchase it then asked to see the Taurus firearm in the case. After a few minutes he put the gun into his left front pocket of his pants.”

Reports state Garcia had a previous conviction for felonious assault and was not lawfully allowed to be in possession of a firearm.

Garcia was arrested the same day as the incident occurred at his residence at 3467 State Route Old 35 SE in Washington C.H.

Patrolman Heinz of the Washington C.H. Police Department arrived at the residence and was told by one person Garcia was not inside, reports said, but a second person at the residence gave officers permission to enter the residence, and police found Garcia hiding in the laundry room. He was arrested on two warrants, according to the reports.

Once he was inside the patrol car, Garcia asked officers if he could receive a reduced sentence if he told them the whereabouts of the stolen handgun, reports said. Patrolman Heinz advised Garcia that the police department was not able to provide any deals on reducing sentencing and contacted Fayette County Prosecutor Jess Weade.

“Mr. Weade advised me that if [Garcia] was truthful about his prior criminal history and if he did cooperate and if officers located the gun that he would dismiss one of the felony of the third degree charges. I informed the offender what the prosecutor offered. The offender requested that he be escorted inside and that he would show officers where the gun is,” reports said.

The police officers located the stolen handgun inside the kitchen trash can, according to reports.

Garcia received 34 days of local jail time credit for days already served in the Fayette County Jail. Following his sentencing, he was conveyed to Correctional Reception Center in Orient, Ohio, to commence the remainder of his sentencing order.