A man who threatened passengers on a bus in Bellevue has been sentenced to 100 months in prison.

Daniel Orlando Hayes, 31, of Seattle, was sentenced in U.S. District court in Seattle for being a felon in possession of a firearm. Hayes was arrested in Bellevue on July 6, 2009, armed with 9mm semi-automatic pistol, after a bus driver alerted police that Hayes was threatening passengers on his bus.

At sentencing U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones told Hayes, “Your conduct appears to be escalating in violence…. You can make some profound changes and break that cycle of violence.”

Hayes also will be required to complete three years of supervised released after he serves his prison sentence.

According to records in the case, the incident began when Hayes and another man were waiting at a bus stop. Hayes asked the man about his shoe size, then pulled out a gun, pointed it at the man and said he could make the man “do cartwheels.” When the bus arrived, the man mouthed to the driver that the passenger behind him (Hayes) had a gun.

Hayes followed the man onto the bus, and started hassling another rider. When that bus rider moved, Hayes pulled up his shirt and showed off the gun. The bus driver faked a mechanical problem with the bus and pulled to the side of the road in downtown Bellevue. Police arrived and safely took Hayes into custody. The 15 passengers on the bus were not harmed.

Hayes is prohibited from possessing a firearm because of previous felony convictions for Assault in King County Superior Court in 2005 and 2006. The gun had been reported stolen to the Kent Police Department in Kent. HAYES pleaded guilty in federal court on December 16, 2009.