Former GOP Virginia lawmaker Matt Fariss pleads guilty to felony gun and drug charges

RICHMOND, Va. -- A former Virginia lawmaker has pleaded guilty to felony gun and drug charges and been sentenced to time already served in jail.

Matt Fariss, who had served in the House of Delegates as a Republican since 2012 before running unsuccessfully last year as an independent, pleaded guilty Wednesday to meth possession and having a firearm while possessing an illegal drug, according to the Lynchburg News & Advance.

Judge Dennis Lee Hupp sentenced Fariss in Campbell Circuit Court to three years in prison and suspended all but 20 days, according to the News & Advance.

Chuck Felmlee, an attorney for Fariss, told reporters that the former delegate already served 22 days in jail. In late October, Fariss' bond was revoked, court records show, and he had been in jail since then until his plea hearing.

At the plea hearing, prosecutors said sheriff's deputies pulled Fariss over March 23. During the stop, officials noticed a hunting rifle in Fariss’ seat. While patting down Fariss, authorities found a bag of meth, according to the News & Advance.

As part of his sentence, Fariss has lost the right to hold statewide public office in Virginia or own and possess firearms, reports show.

The former delegate's plea comes after Fariss was acquitted in March of felony hit-and-run and malicious wounding charges after being accused last year of striking his ex-girlfriend with his SUV after they argued. Fariss was convicted of a less serious charge of improper driving and ordered to pay a $500 fine.

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Olivia Diaz is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.