Howard County felon sent to prison for nine years on gun possession charges

ELMA — A convicted felon from Howard County who was found with more than a dozen guns will spend nearly nine years in federal prison.

Court records show 63-year-old Michael Strain was found guilty of  two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm in October. Evidence showed that Strain was living in Elma in late 2010 and early 2011 and purchased ammunition and firearms accessories after being told he couldn’t legally buy a gun.  That led to an investigation where officers found thirteen guns at his home — including a sawed-off shotgun.

Strain was convicted in Minnesota in 2001 for fleeing from police, and possessing a pipe bomb in his car that was parked near a courthouse while he attended a court hearing.

He was sentenced to 105 months in prison and fined $12,500.