A 29-year-old Coeur d'Alene man was sentenced on Wednesday to serve as long as 10 years in prison for felony aggravated assault.

This was Francis D. Gunseor's first felony conviction, but he has 18 prior misdemeanor convictions for crimes such as providing false information, driving without privileges, petit theft, battery, possession of a controlled substance, driving under the influence, injury to property and minor in possession of alcohol.

Gunseor also had six probation violations.

First District Judge Fred Gibler ordered that the first three years of Francis D. Gunseor's sentence would be fixed and the remaining seven years would be indeterminate with credit for time served.

Gunseor entered a guilty plea to the aggravated assault charge on April 24. The charge resulted from an incident on Nov. 2, 2014, in which Gunseor attempted to use a gun to take illegal drugs from two men who had met him for the purpose of selling Gunseor the drugs.

During the confrontation, the gun was fired, but no one was hit and the two men escaped.

Kootenai County Prosecutor Barry McHugh praised the work of the Coeur d'Alene Police Department and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Jed Whitaker, who prosecuted the case.

"Mr. Gunseor's conduct escalated far beyond that reflected in his numerous misdemeanor convictions," McHugh said. "Still, his misdemeanor convictions show his tendency toward violence and drug use, combined with history of probation violations, gave Judge (Fred) Gibler a pretty clear picture of someone who would not be willing to comply with terms of probation.

"Further, Mr. Gunseor's significant addiction issues made him an appropriate candidate for long-term treatment in the state prison. After three years the Department of Corrections will be able to evaluate whether Mr. Gunseor can change his ways and comply with terms of probation."