A Butler man has been sentenced to serve three to seven years in state prison after pleading guilty to felony drug and receiving stolen property charges filed by county detectives who found he was making crack cocaine in his apartment in March last year.

William Steven Stuteville, 33, was sentenced Tuesday, Oct. 3, in Butler County Common Pleas Court to serve 36 to 84 months for manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver cocaine, the same amount of time for manufacture to be served concurrently, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver fentanyl and 27 to 54 months for receiving stolen property, also concurrent.

County probation officers went to a Zeigler Avenue apartment on March 15 after seeing two wanted people enter, according to an affidavit. The officers then entered and arrested the two people, and found Stuteville, who lived there.

The officers saw suspected crack cocaine in plain view on an end table in the master bedroom and a pistol grip sticking out of the end table, and called in the county drug task force to investigate further, police said.

A detective said the suspected crack cocaine looked like it had just been cooked and was laying on an envelope on the table to dry.

Stuteville cooperated and directed task force members to about 4 ounces of finished product, which was hidden under a dresser drawer. Detectives said Stuteville also admitted to having heroin in the bedroom.

After obtaining a search warrant from District Judge William Fullerton, detectives found the 4 ounces of crack cocaine, which field tested positive, as well as 11 grams of suspected fentanyl, which was not tested due to officer safety, police said.

Detectives also found a glass measuring cup filled with a white-colored liquid and a sludge-like substance that also field tested positive for cocaine.

“The presence of this item shows that Cocaine HCL was being cooked in the residence to manufacture crack cocaine,” detectives said.

Detectives also recovered a 9 mm pistol from the end table. The gun was loaded and had a round in the chamber. Detectives later discovered the gun had been stolen from an Evans City resident.

Stuteville was being held in the county prison on $100,000 bail.

Judge Kelley Streib imposed the sentence.