POSTED: Wednesday, July 4, 2012 --- 12:25 p.m.

MOUNT PLEASANT, Wis. (AP) -- A Mount Pleasant felon who says he only brandished a gun to protect his pregnant fiancee and family has been sentenced to a year in prison.

As a convicted felon, 28-year-old Artis R. Carodine Jr. wasn't allowed to own a gun. He acknowledged Tuesday it was a mistake to buy one.

Police responded to his neighborhood in December on reports of shots fired and a fight involving 10 to 15 people. Carodine says some people were trying to get in and assault his fiancee.

A Journal Times of Racine report says Carodine pleaded guilty in May to possession of a firearm by a felon. Defense attorney Christopher Glinski says his client may have had a gun but he didn't fire it.

Carodine was previously convicted on drug charges.

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Information from: The Journal Times, http://www.journaltimes.com

AP-WF-07-04-12 1712GMT