The president of the Pagan motorcycle club in Maryland was sentenced yesterday to 21/2 years in federal prison and three years of supervised release after he pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of 19 guns, according to the Maryland U.S. attorney's office.

The man, Jay Carl Wagner, 67, of Hagerstown was prohibited from owning firearms because of a previous conviction of resisting arrest, according to the news release.

Maryland State Police officers watched Wagner walk out of his home May 9, 2007, with a handgun, according to Maryland U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein's office. Authorities with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and state troopers then searched his home and seized 19 rifles, handguns, shotguns and other ammunition.

Officers from both agencies were also joined in the 6 a.m. raid last year by agents from the FBI, the fire marshal's office, and the county sheriff's office. They deployed a robot to check the house for booby traps, police said at the time.

When Wagner was arrested, a police spokesman stated that it was a "major blow to this criminal organization."