RUMFORD – A Rumford man will go to trial in February on a federal charge that he possessed nine rifles and shotguns while a convicted felon.

Jerry W. Hubbard, 50, of Somerset Street was indicted Dec. 1 by a grand jury in U.S. District Court in Portland. He was arrested Dec. 3 by agents from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, assisted by Rumford police.

Hubbard pleaded not guilty Dec. 6 and was released on $500 cash bail. He is to appear for a jury trial Feb. 7 in U.S. District Court in Portland. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 10 years in a federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine, U.S. Attorney Darcie McElwee said.

Hubbard was previously convicted of having a loaded .25-caliber pistol in his car in New Jersey in 1995. He was sentenced to a year of probation, fined and banned from possessing firearms. McElwee said that on Nov. 9, 2003, Rumford police executed a search warrant at Hubbard’s home and found nine rifles and shotguns in his basement. They turned the case over to the ATF in Portland, which sent it to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. McElwee attributed the delay in the arrest and indictment to a backlog.