Stefan Rease, Firearms Theft, Pennsylvania 2016

Hazleton Man Sentenced to 20 Months in Prison for Stealing Firearms

A Hazleton man was sentenced to 20 months in prison for stealing firearms from a local sporting goods store in April 2016.

According to the United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Stefan Rease, 20, of Hazleton, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Malachy Mannion in Scranton on July 13, 2016.

Rease pleaded guilty to breaking into the sporting goods store and stealing firearms in April 2016.

The case was brought as part of the Violent Crime Reduction Partnership (VRCP), a district-wide initiative to combat the spread of violent crime in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The VRCP is a collaboration of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies dedicated to locating, apprehending, and prosecuting individuals who commit violent crimes.

The investigation was conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Hazleton Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Evan Gotlob prosecuted the case.

Rease's sentence is a result of his guilty plea to the crime. The sentencing marks the end of a long investigation that involved collaboration between multiple law enforcement agencies.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mdpa/pr/hazleton-man-sentenced-20-months-imprisonment-stealing-firearms-sporting-goods-store