Kidus Chane Yohannes was convicted in February of third-degree felony possession of his roommate's credit card. Two additional felony charges of buying guns with a false identification number were dropped in December.

Judge Gary Stott denied a motion by attorney Richard Gale to reduce the felony charge to a class A misdemeanor.

Deputy Utah County Attorney Chad Grunander said reducing the charge might have allowed Yohannes to avoid penalties associated with a felony conviction, like deportation.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a hold on Yohannes, which means federal authorities likely are planning to begin deportation proceedings, Grunander said.

Yohannes is in the United States on political asylum from Ethiopia, which could complicate deportation, Grunander said.

Yohannes is purportedly "consumed with violent depictions of the death of United States military servicemen, as well as human execution by gunfire," according to 4th District Court documents. He also allegedly made statements about killing a police officer, according to court documents.

Those statements contributed to the Utah County Attorney's Office's determination to get a felony conviction, which ensures that Yohannes can never again legally possess a gun in the United States, Grunander said.

Stott sentenced him to serve 120 days in jail, with credit for time served since his June arrest.