Felon faces more charges after stop
LANCASTER TWP — A six-time felon was caught with a number of stolen items — including a loaded handgun — after state police arrested him for suspected drugged driving last week.
Tyler J. Shaffer, 24, of Pittsburgh is facing more than two dozen charges — half of them felonies. He is in the Butler County Prison on $20,000 bail.
Troopers said Jackson Township police initially pulled over Shaffer about 3:45 a.m. Friday after they received reports of an erratic driver on Interstate 79.
The officers got to the pickup truck that the defendant was driving and noticed a 9 mm pistol on the passenger seat, according to court documents. The gun, a police affidavit said, was “fully loaded.”
Because of his criminal record, he is forbidden under state law to have any firearms.
State police were later notified since the stop was made in Lancaster Township. Shaffer, who appeared to be impaired, gave troopers a bogus name, documents said.
Police said they smelled a “strong odor” of marijuana coming from the truck. Shaffer was subsequently arrested after failing field sobriety tests.
A search of the pickup, documents said, turned up suspected marijuana and other contraband, as well as an assortment of stolen property — the gun, credit and debit cards, wallets, a purse and cell phones — that belonged to six other people.
He also did not have the owner's permission to be driving the pickup.
Police eventually took him to Butler Memorial Hospital for a blood draw. Toxicology reports are pending.
District Judge Sue Haggerty on Friday arraigned Shaffer on felony charges of felons not to possess firearms, carrying a firearm without a concealed carry license and 11 counts of receiving stolen property.
He also was arraigned on misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence of a controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance and drug paraphernalia, possession of a small amount of marijuana, unauthorized use of a vehicle and false identification to police.
Additionally, he was cited for seven traffic violations including driving with a suspended license and driving without a license.
According to court records, Shaffer has six prior felony convictions — five for receiving stolen property.
