ST. PAUL — The Minnesota Supreme Court has agreed to review the case of a convicted felon sentenced to five years in prison for possessing a BB gun.

David Lee Haywood was charged in Ramsey County in 2013 with possession of a firearm by an ineligible person. He was convicted after the judge told the jury a BB gun counts as a firearm.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld his conviction in September, saying appellate courts have consistently included BB guns in the definition of firearms.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports (http://bit.ly/1IvOtCd ) the Minnesota Supreme Court will now consider the issue.

Court papers say Haywood was caught with a BB gun that looks like a Walther P99 pistol. Haywood was deemed ineligible to possess a firearm because of a 2005 drug conviction.