Habitual offender going to prison for 10 full years

GULFPORT -- A 40-year-old felon from Gulfport, ordered to prison for 10 full years as a habitual offender, was dealing in cocaine and had several firearms, District Attorney Joel Smith said.

Clifton Wendell King pleaded guilty in Harrison County Court this week to possession of cocaine with intent to distribute.

Judge Chris Schmidt sentenced him under Mississippi's habitual offender law. King won't be eligible for early release.

Smith said King had been convicted of cocaine distribution in 1995, cocaine possession in 1998 and had a 2002 federal firearm conviction.

His latest arrest was Feb. 15, 2014, when the Gulfport Police narcotics unit and Drug Enforcement Administration agents went to search his home on Holly Circle, said Assistant District Attorney Mitch Owen, who prosecuted the case.

"Police found King sitting in a car in the driveway actively weighing cocaine using a digital scale," Owen said in a news release. "A further search of the residence revealed additional cocaine and multiple weapons hidden on the premises."

This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 3:55 PM with the headline "Habitual offender going to prison for 10 full years ."