NORRISTOWN — Two Pottstown men who authorities accused of multiple illegal gun transfers as part of a sophisticated multi-county gun trafficking network admitted to their criminal activities in Montgomery County Court.
Ryan Stoudt, 26, of the 400 block of Farmington Avenue, pleaded guilty to charges of corrupt organizations, illegal sale or transfer of firearms, conspiring in the illegal sale or transfer of firearms, and possession with intent to deliver marijuana in connection with incidents that occurred between January and July 2024.
Maleec Darrius Borders, 24, of the 400 block of Lincoln Avenue, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to charges of corrupt organizations, illegal sale or transfer of firearms, conspiracy and possession of a prohibited firearm.
Judge Risa Vetri Ferman deferred sentencing Stoudt and Borders until later this year so that court officials can complete background investigation reports about the men.
Stoudt and Borders were among nine people from Pottstown and Berks County who were arrested in July 2024 and linked to the gun trafficking organization whose members illegally obtained or manufactured and sold handguns, 3-D printed ghost guns, suppressors and switches.
Stoudt was accused of two illegal gun transfers, and Borders was accused of four illegal transfers, according to an arrest affidavit.
Prosecutors Kathleen Alane McLaughlin and Robert Joseph Waeltz Jr. are handling the cases. Defense lawyer Matthew Scott Brittenburg represents Stoudt and defense lawyer Thomas C. Egan III represents Borders.
Others Enter Guilty Pleas
Several other members of the organization previously pleaded guilty to various charges and are awaiting sentencing.
James Darell Hiller, 19, of the 600 block of Beech Street, Pottstown, whose stabbing injuries during an incident in Berks County triggered the investigation that resulted in authorities dismantling the gun trafficking network, previously pleaded guilty to corrupt organizations and related charges. Authorities alleged Hiller was linked to four illegal gun transfers.
The investigation began on Feb. 1, 2024, when Pottstown police were dispatched to Pottstown Hospital for a stabbing victim. The victim, Hiller, originally told police that after an argument about a small amount of marijuana, he was stabbed in Pottstown. However, investigators determined the stabbing occurred in Birdsboro in Berks County, when Hiller, who was then 18 and not allowed to buy or own a handgun, was attempting to sell an illegal firearm and was stabbed by the unknown buyer, according to court papers.
The investigation into that single firearm sale expanded, revealing more members of the gun trafficking organization and the criminal activities undertaken by the group, according to prosecutors.
Nathanial Antonio Arroyo, 28, of the unit block of Pleasant Grove Road, Robeson Township, who authorities alleged was linked to eight illegal transfers, pleaded guilty last week to corrupt organization-related charges and is awaiting sentencing.
Horace Jay Kieffer Jr., 38, of the 300 block of Rowan Alley, Pottstown, pleaded guilty last week to illegal sale or transfer of firearms, conspiracy and person not to possess firearms and is awaiting sentencing.
Lucas Scott Groff, 29, of the unit block of Red Bud Lane, Earl Township, Berks County, who detectives alleged was the 3-D printing expert, previously pleaded guilty to charges of corrupt organizations, making repairs or selling offensive weapons, knowledge that property is proceeds of an illegal act and possession of an instrument of crime and is awaiting sentencing.
“The importance of these pleas is that people are taking accountability and they are admitting that they did commit the crimes that we alleged that they did,” McLaughlin said.
Three other Pottstown men accused of roles in the organization are currently slated to stand trial on Sept. 8. They are: Michael Christophe Needling, 28, of the 300 block of East High Street; Keith Michael Chaney, 26, of the unit block of North Charlotte Street; and Desmond Tyon Bennett, 32, of the 200 block of King Street.
The Investigation
Authorities alleged the gun trafficking organization operated out of a storage unit in the 300 block of Laurel Street in Pottstown and residences where some of the defendants lived and manufactured the 3-D items at Groff’s residence in Earl Township.
“The organization specialized in the acquisition and distribution of illegal firearms to their customer base. They used a variety of methods to achieve this objective,” county Detective Drew Marino and Pottstown Detective Michael Damiano alleged in the criminal complaint.
Prosecutors said the members of the corrupt organization acquired and distributed 31 illegal firearms. Guns were purchased at gun stores in eight counties, including Montgomery, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Columbia, Lehigh, Wayne and Westmoreland.
At the time of the arrests, authorities said 17 of the 31 firearms purchased by the group were recovered, some during searches at the time of the arrests. But others were recovered during investigations of other criminal incidents, including a road rage incident in New Hanover.
“There were a lot of guns that were on the street. Some of them have been recovered, but some of them have not been recovered. That is a danger, to know that they could be anywhere out there,” McLaughlin said.
Detectives used various investigative techniques to bust the organization, including analyzing cellphone data, analyzing social media posts, tracking multiple purchases of firearms by some of the defendants through the state’s Electronic Record of Sale system, reviewing copies of state and federal firearms purchase forms at gun stores and conducting surveillance.
The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Violent Crime Unit and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Gun Violence Task Force was assisted during the investigation by the following agencies: Pottstown Police Department; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); Pennsylvania State Police; Berks County Detectives; the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Gun Violence Task Force; and numerous other police departments from Upper Merion, New Hanover, Exeter and Robeson townships, and the Borough of Birdsboro.
