Alexander James Hand, 26, Minot, was sentenced to two years in prison, with all suspended but the 60 days he has already served, and two years of supervised probation for disposing of a firearm his co-worker had used in an alleged burglary and being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Hand pleaded guilty on Feb. 22 to tampering with physical evidence and unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, both Class C felonies. The state dropped a Class B felony charge of criminal conspiracy.

Court records show that Judge Richard Hagar also ordered Hand to have no contact with the victims and to pay $1,100 in court costs.

According to court documents, Hand drove his co-worker, Troy Lee Alan Loney, 33, to another co-worker’s residence on Christmas Day and waited outside when Loney went inside to confront the other man allegedly stolen tools. Loney stands accused of forcing his way into the apartment and holding a gun to his head. When he left the residence, Loney handed Hand a firearm and told him to dispose of it. Hand put the gun behind a pine tree and then got back in the vehicle and drove off with Loney.

Loney has been charged with Class B felony burglary, Class C felony terrorizing, and Class C felony tampering with physical evidence in district court in Minot. The next scheduled hearing for Loney is a pretrial conference on April 17 before Judge Todd Cresap.