Iowa men who brought guns to Pokeman Championship in Boston plead guilty to weapon charge

Two Iowa men accused last summer of bringing an AR-15 rifle and a shotgun, along with hundreds of rounds of ammunition, to a Pokemon World Championship in Boston both received two-year sentences Thursday.

James Stumbo, 28, and Kevin Norton, 19, each pleaded guilty to anammunition and weapon possession charge, according to the Boston Globe.

The pair also received two years’ probation, the report said. Both have already served 335 days behind bars since their arrest.

The men were stopped when they arrived at the event last August, after law enforcement received a tip that the two were traveling to the event with the weapons.

Stumbo and Norton reportedly had conversations with other Pokemon players before the tournament, many of which were threatening in nature, Assistant District Attorney Brian Brodigan said, according to the Globe report.

“My AR-15 says that you lose,” Stumbo reportedly wrote in one message.

Norton’s attorney, Robert Le Roy, told the newspaper after the sentencing that the incident had been an “error in judgment” resulting from broader restrictions on guns in Massachusetts than the pair’s home state of Iowa.

“They basically always drive around with loaded guns in the trunk in Iowa,” he reportedly said.

The online remarks were idle chatter, the men’s lawyers told WCVB.