A Clinton man who shot himself in the leg early this year is now facing a felony charge, according to court documents.

Prosecutors charged 37-year-old Franklin H. Lovell in Island County Superior Court Nov. 27 with unlawful possession of a firearm in the second degree.

On Jan. 17, a deputy with the Island County Sheriff’s Office responded to the emergency room of WhidbeyHealth Medical Center in Coupeville for a report of a patient with a gunshot wound. The deputy arrived to find Lovell in a hospital bed in stable condition with a thigh wound.

Lovell was evasive about some details of the incident, the report states. He said he accidentally shot himself while at a friend’s house on Newman Road in Freeland. He said he was looking at his friend’s gun and it fired when he was placing it in the front pocket of his sweatshirt.

Lovell said a friend came from Oak Harbor to drive him and a woman, who was also present at the shooting, to the hospital together. A nurse said the woman caused problems and was sent to the waiting area. The woman wouldn’t cooperate with deputies; she said she was afraid of getting into trouble and was just there for emotional support, the report states.

The deputies determined that Lovell was not eligible to possess or control a firearm. Court records state that he was previously convicted in Skagit County of attempting to elude a pursuing police vehicle, which is a felony and makes him ineligible to possess a gun.