Bradford County Man Sentenced To 84 Months For Transporting 47 Stolen Firearms And Conspiring To Distribute Heroin

SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that United States District Judge A. Richard Caputo sentenced Jared S. Miller, age 28, of Sayre, Pennsylvania, to 84 months of imprisonment, after he pleaded guilty to transporting 47 stolen firearms and to conspiring to distribute heroin.

According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, Miller admitted to conspiring with Aaron Vanderpool to transport 47 firearms from Pennsylvania to New York, after Vanderpool burglarized Fulmer’s Sporting Goods, a federally licensed firearms dealer in Wysox, Pennsylvania, on May 24, 2015. Miller admitted that he and Vanderpool traded the firearms in New York for heroin and cash, and distributed the heroin in Pennsylvania. Only three of the 48 total firearms stolen from Fulmer’s Sporting Goods have been recovered by law enforcement.

Miller also admitted to trafficking heroin in Pennsylvania from June 2012 through June 2015. In his plea agreement, he stipulated to trafficking between 400 and 700 grams of heroin, which is the equivalent of 16,000 to 28,000 potentially fatal doses of heroin.

As part of his sentence, Miller was ordered to pay $27,383.75 to the victims of his crimes.

Miller’s co-conspirator, Vanderpool, previously was sentenced to 77 months of incarceration for his role in the offenses. Two other individuals have been charged in relation to the Fulmer’s Sporting Goods burglary. Luis Mercado was charged in April 2017 and has entered a plea agreement to firearms and heroin trafficking offenses. Jose Espinosa was charged in April 2017 with firearms and heroin trafficking offenses, and awaits arraignment.

The matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and by the Pennsylvania State Police. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo.

This case was brought as part of the Violent Crime Reduction Partnership (“VCRP”), a district wide initiative to combat the spread of violent crime in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the VCRP consists of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies whose mission is to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit violent crimes with firearms.

This case also was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.

# # #