A Harrison County Circuit judge has sentenced Michael Eugene Welch to 40 years in prison for a drive-by shooting that left three teenage brothers wounded.

Judge Roger Clark sentenced Welch as a habitual offender following his conviction on three counts of aggravated assault. That means Welch must serve the time without consideration of early release.

Welch, 25, was living in Long Beach when the drive-by shooting occurred the night of March 21, 2007, on U.S. 49 in Gulfport. His prior felony convictions include two counts of grand larceny.

Prosecutors said Welch fire shots into a car in which the brothers were riding after another person in that vehicle allegedly shouted an obscenity to a girl driving the car containing Welch.