Carbon County Man Pleads Guilty To Federal Firearms Charges

     The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that a Carbon County man pleaded guilty on October 9, before Senior United States District Judge Edwin M. Kosik, to the charge of being an unlawful user of controlled substances in possession of firearms.

     According to United States Attorney Peter J. Smith, Jordan Bachert, age 29, of Lansford, Carbon County, admitted to being an unlawful user of controlled substances in 2011 and 2012, a time period in which he purchased and possessed several firearms in Carbon County.

     The case resulted from an investigation concerning drug and firearms trafficking in Carbon and Schuylkill Counties conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Nesquehoning and Lansford Police Departments in Carbon County.

     The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert J. O’Hara.

     Senior Judge Kosik ordered that a presentence investigation take place.  A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.

     A sentence following a finding of guilty is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.

    In this case, the maximum penalty under the federal statute is imprisonment for ten years, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine.  Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public, and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs.  For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.