Staff report

SALISBURY — A Rowan County jury convicted 23-year-old Travis Alexander Abbit of Salisbury of felony possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Abbitt also pleaded guilty in Rowan County Superior Court to related charges of felony possession with intent to sell or deliver marijuana and felony maintaining a residence for dealing in controlled substances.

Judge Mark Klass gave Abbitt a suspended sentence of 14 to 26 months in prison and placed him on supervised probation for 30 months.

Abbitt’s arrest came last January after probation officers said they smelled marijuana during a home visit. Abbitt was one of two people in the house at the time.

He told deputies that a gun was underneath his mattress in his bedroom. Officers also located a box of ammunition, a pistol magazine and two plastic bags containing marijuana — one in the kitchen and one in a bedroom.

Abbitt had previously been convicted of felony fleeing to elude arrest with a motor vehicle, among other convictions.

Rowan County District Attorney Brandy Cook said she appreciates the efforts of Assistant District Attorney Kristina Scally in preparing the case for trial, along with probation and parole officers and the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office.