A Butler County Common Pleas Court judge reluctantly accepted a plea agreement Thursday and warned the defendant against retaliating against the victim.

Judge Kelley Streib sentenced Joshua Dewayne Norris, 36, of Butler to serve 24 to 60 months in the county prison after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of firearms not to be carried without a license. She gave him credit for 613 days already served in prison, but required him to serve at least 24 months.

Butler Township police filed several charges against Norris following a June 21, 2020, incident in which he allegedly pointed a loaded handgun at the head of his then 25-year-old girlfriend and threatened her during a domestic dispute at their home on the 800 block of East Jefferson Street. No injuries were reported.

Norris, a felon, was arraigned on charges of persons not to possess a firearm, terroristic threats, firearms not to be carried without a license, simple assault and harassment. No action was taken on the other charges. He is being held in the Butler County Prison in lieu of $25,000 bail.

The victim cried while reading an impact statement saying Norris changed the lives of her and her children forever.

She said she is afraid to walk outside with her children out of fear Norris or his friends will retaliate, and she is worried about what he will do when he is released from jail. She said she can’t concentrate at work because of the stress she feels.

Streib said she might not have accepted the plea agreement if she was the judge of record when the agreement was made. She warned Norris against intimidating or threatening the victim or her family, or having his friends act on his behalf.

“I will come down with the strongest sanctions the law allows,” Streib said.

Norris, who attended his sentencing hearing from the county jail through video conferencing, wept as he apologized and vowed to become a better person.

“I want my kids to trust the law. I need to change how I see things and be a good father, so my kids don’t turn out like this,” Norris said.

In an unrelated case, Norris was sentenced to serve six months of probation concurrently with the jail sentence and pay a $300 fine after he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence. Butler City police filed charges following a Nov. 9, 2019, incident.