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Drunk-driving felon gets 3 years Medford man has long criminal history By Chris Bristol A career criminal from Medford who was busted on federal charges for driving drunk with a dangerous weapon in his pants has been sentenced to more than three years in prison. Harold Stuart Freeman, appearing Thursday in Medford federal court before visiting U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken, received a 37-month sentence after he pleaded guilty to charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm and falsifying an application for a firearm. According to court records, the case began in September when Freeman, 45, tried to buy a rifle at a Medford pawn shop. In doing so, Freeman lied about his criminal record. Buyers of firearms must fill out a background-check form, and Freeman falsely claimed he was not a convicted felon. An instant FBI check alerted store clerks, who refused the sale, and the store alerted the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, which began an investigation. Four months later, on Jan. 16, Freeman was arrested for drunken driving in Curry County. During his booking, jail deputies found a loaded .40-caliber H&K semiautomatic handgun in the crotch of his pants. Freeman has an extensive criminal record in Oregon that dates back to 1988, including convictions in Portland for forgery, car theft and being a felon in possession of a firearm. He also has a 1989 conviction in Josephine County for methamphetamine possession and drunken driving and a 1990 Douglas County car theft conviction. He also pleaded guilty to a DUII charge stemming from the Curry County arrest. In an unrelated case Thursday in federal court, a former Gold Hill man was sentenced to just under four years in prison on firearms charges. Charles Reese Baker, 45, pleaded guilty to a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 46 months in prison. Like the charge against Freeman, prosecutors alleged the guns in question had been transported illegally across state lines. Baker was accused of possessing a .357-caliber Taurus revolver that was found wedged between the seat cushions of a couch during a drug raid last summer in the Rogue River area. He was sitting on the couch, and witnesses said he had been wearing the gun around for days. Baker�s rap sheet in Jackson County dates back at least to 1992, when he was busted for unlawful possession of a weapon. Similar charges were filed but dismissed in 1995 and 1998. In 1994 Baker was convicted of methamphetamine possession in Josephine County, and the following year there he pleaded no contest to a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm. State charges stemming from the drug bust last year are pending. A trial date is set for July 5. Obituaries | Sports | Business | Classifieds | Tempo | Prime Times | So Oregon Sites | Outdoor Journal | Subscribe | Contact | Movies | Advertise | Real Estate Showcase | Archive | Editorials | Letters to the editor | Religion | Wake-up Call | NIE | Cyber Chef | Job Network | So Oregon Weather | WSJ Northwest | Forums | AP Wire | AP Money | F.A.Q. | Awards Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. The Community Newspaper Subsidiary of Dow Jones & Co, Inc Copyright �The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA