A Lancaster man was convicted of illegally possessing a loaded firearm in January in East Donegal Township.

Taylor McCoy Wike III, 30, is prohibited from having a firearm due to a prior felony conviction.

A Lancaster County jury recently convicted Wike III following a two-day trial.

He was found guilty of Person not to Possess Firearm, a first-degree felony, and Carrying Firearm without a License, a third-degree felony, following a Jan. 5, 2021, incident at Sheetz on River Road.

Assistant District Attorney Sean Barrett presented evidence that Wike III was operating a vehicle with a dead license plate and possessed a loaded 9mm Glock with a laser attachment in a side compartment located behind the driver seat under a blue blanket.

Judge Thomas Sponaugle presided over the trial. Wike III will be sentenced on November 18.

On Jan. 5, 2021, police were at the Sheetz parking lot on River Road in East Donegal Township and verified that a plate on a GMC Yukon parked at the pumps belonged to a Ford. Police had the vehicle towed and the firearm was discovered by the tow truck operator who turned the weapon over to police.

Wike III faces up to 20 years on the Person not to Possess Firearm conviction and 7 years on the Carrying Firearm without a License conviction. He faces up to $40,000 in fines.

Susquehanna Regional Police Department Officer Richard Siegel filed the charges.