Felon found with gun in stolen car pleads guilty
A Pittsburgh man pleaded guilty to a felony gun charge in Butler County Court on Wednesday, after police say he was found in a stolen vehicle with a number of stolen items.
Tyler J. Shaffer, 25, pleaded guilty to felon not to possess firearms before Judge William Shaffer.
The plea agreement calls for a sentence to the state Intermediate Punishment Program, the length of which will be determined by the judge, as well as state probation, the length of which will also be determined by the judge.
Shaffer will now be transported to a state correctional facility for evaluation to see if he is eligible for the program, and sentencing will be scheduled later.
Shaffer, a six-time felon, initially faced more than two dozen charges — half of them felonies, after an incident in Lancaster Township on June 2.
Those charges include carrying a firearm without a concealed carry license, 11 counts of receiving stolen property, and 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, as well as seven traffic violations including driving with a suspended license and driving without a license.
He was initially pulled over by Jackson Township police after they received reports of an erratic driver on Interstate 79.
When officers encountered Shaffer, they 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, Shaffer 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.
He was arrested for failing field sobriety tests after the odor or marijuana was smelled coming from the vehicle, police said.
Inside the vehicle, which police said was found to be stolen, 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 — were found.
According to court records, Shaffer has six prior felony convictions — five for receiving stolen property.
