A convicted drug dealer from New York who had been living in Hancock County was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court in Bangor to nearly seven years in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Oscar Nunez, 28, of the Bronx, had been under investigation by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency on July 23, 2012, when police executed a search warrant at his girlfriend’s residence in Verona Island and seized a Hi Point .380-caliber handgun from the eaves of the house, according to court records.

Nunez, also known as “Shorty,” pleaded guilty to the charge on Jan. 20.

Judge John A. Woodcock Jr. sentenced Nunez to serve 82 months in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release.

Had the case against Nunez gone to trial, Assistant U.S. Attorney James Moore wrote in a prosecution document that the government would have called a witness to testify that the gun found in the search belonged to Nunez.

“David Ireland would testify he had for a brief period of time worked for the defendant, a male drug dealer who used a street name of ‘Shorty’ and whose real real name he believed was Oscar Nunez. Mr. Ireland would add that he observed the defendant on Sunday, June 17, 2012, in possession of a black semiautomatic handgun which was similar to the Hi Point .380 pistol,” Moore wrote.

Nunez’s DNA was also found on the gun, Moore wrote.

Nunez faced charges in 2012 of attempted murder and arson for allegedly threatening Ireland and Ireland’s son at gunpoint and setting his Orrington house on fire. It was not immediately known whether those charges in state court were resolved.

Prior to his arrest on the gun charge in Maine, Nunez was convicted of a felony drug sale charge in New York, according to court records.

Scott Dolan can be contacted at 791-6304 or at:

sdolan@pressherald.com

Twitter: @scottddolan