US man gets 15 years in jail for pirated DVDs

A US man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of selling pirated movies and music to a federal agent.

Patrick Lashun King, a 37-year-old resident of Mississippi, pleaded guilty to six felony counts of selling pirated material on DVDs and CD and was sentenced to a total of 18 years, three suspended, with a further three years under supervision upon his release.

A search of King's Hazlehurst home and business premises yielded more than 10,000 counterfeit discs as well as duplication equipment and weapons including an assault rifle.

He had previously been convicted of two felonies. In 1995, he was sentenced to five years for assault on a law enforcement officer, and in 2003 he was successfully prosecuted for CD piracy.

This is the second time in two weeks that a seller of counterfeit DVDs has been sent to prison in Mississippi. On October 31, Antwun Sharell Jones of Meridian was sentenced to two years for selling a pirated movie, notes the state's Attorney General's Office.

"Anyone who is selling counterfeit goods in Mississippi should be well aware by now that he or she will be arrested and will face a serious prison term," commented Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood.

The Obama Administration has been cracking down on intellectual property crimes since drawing up a Strategic Plan to tackle the issue in 2010.