COEUR d'ALENE — A Sandpoint man was sentenced Tuesday to two years in prison for unlawful possession of firearms.

Senior District Judge Edward Lodge also ordered Thomas Wade Callen to serve three years of supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Idaho.

Callen, 52, pleaded guilty in August to unlawfully possessing firearms. Callen, according to court documents, was aware he was prohibited from possessing firearms due to previous felony convictions, but possessed five of them anyways.

Callen said he retained firearms to teach his girlfriend's children how to safely handle them. Lodge reminded Callen that he could not possess them for any reason due to his status as a felon, federal attorneys said.

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