SCRANTON MAN SENTENCED TO FIVE YEARS FOR POSSESSING GUN

IN DRUG OFFENSE

Martin C. Carlson, Acting United States Attorney for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, announced that a 19-year old Scranton man was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge A. Richard Caputo to serve 60 months in prison for possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

Carlson stated that Ryan Hardy, formerly of Philadelphia, who was attending a local college at the time of his arrest, pleaded guilty on June 22, 2007, to committing the offense. The offense was committed in September 2006.

Hardy’s prosecution stemmed from an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Scranton Police Department. Hardy was indicted by a federal grand jury on February 6, 2007.

Judge Caputo also ordered Hardy to be placed on supervision by the U.S. Probation Office for three years following his release from prison. Hardy also is required to pay a $100 special assessment.

Carlson noted that the case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Francis P. Sempa.

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