NORRISTOWN — A Pottstown man, accused of being a “principal” player in a sophisticated multi-county gun trafficking organization with ties to Montgomery and Berks counties, has admitted that prosecutors have sufficient evidence to convict him and he awaits his fate from a judge.
Michael Christophe Needling, 30, of the 300 block of East High Street, appeared in Montgomery County Court on Friday and pleaded no contest to charges of corrupt organizations, illegal sale or transfer of firearms to ineligible persons and prohibited offensive weapons in connection with incidents that occurred between January and July 2024. Specifically, authorities accused Needling of 10 illegal gun transfers and illegally possessing machine gun conversion devices or so-called “switches.”
A no-contest plea is not an admission of guilt but is an admission that prosecutors have sufficient evidence to convict at a trial.
“Michael Needling is one of the principals of this organization and he had a hand in almost everything that this organization did,” alleged Assistant District Attorney Kathleen Alane McLaughlin.
“There were 10 transfers of firearms that he was involved with. Some of those transfers, he was the receiver of the firearm and in some of those transfers, he transferred the firearm to other individuals. These transfers occurred with several members of the organization,” McLaughlin argued.
Judge Risa Vetri Ferman deferred sentencing until a later date so court officials can complete a background investigation report about Needling.
Under a limited deal, prosecutors agreed not to argue for a sentence of more than 18½ to 37 years in prison for Needling. The judge will have sole discretion in fashioning the sentence.
Needling, who is represented by defense lawyer Abraham Hobson III, remains in the county jail without bail pending sentencing.
Needling was among 10 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. Authorities previously explained that such switches allow all of the bullets in a magazine to be continuously fired with one pull of the trigger, making a handgun capable of firing 18 rounds in 2.1 seconds.
“They were equipping these firearms with machine gun conversion devices. So not only are these firearms untraceable, they are much more likely to cause death or serious bodily injury by way of that switch,” explained co-prosecutor Robert Joseph Waeltz Jr.
Six others linked to the gun trafficking ring previously pleaded guilty to various charges and are awaiting sentencing.
Two other Pottstown men accused of roles in the organization are currently slated to stand trial on Sept. 8. They are: Keith Michael Chaney, 26, of the unit block of North Charlotte Street; and Desmond Tyon Bennett, 32, of the 200 block of King Street.
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.
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 and is awaiting sentencing. 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.
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.
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.
