SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced today that Luis Mercado, age 46, of Queens, New York, was charged on April 6, 2017, in a criminal information with firearms and controlled substance offenses associated with a May 2015, gun store burglary in Bradford County, Pennsylvania.
According to United States Attorney Bruce D. Brandler, the information alleges that Mercado aided and abetted the transport of 47 stolen firearms from Pennsylvania to New York. The firearms were stolen from Fulmer’s Sporting Goods, a federally licensed firearms dealer in Wysox, Pennsylvania, on or about May 24, 2015. The information also charges Mercado with conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute 100 to 400 grams of heroin, which is equivalent to approximately 4,000 to 16,000 doses of heroin, during a three-year period from June 1, 2012 through June 17, 2015.
The government simultaneously filed a plea agreement with Mercado to the alleged charges, which is subject to approval of the court. A date for his arraignment has not been set.
Mercado is the third individual to be charged in relation to the Fulmer’s Sporting Goods burglary. Jared Miller and Aaron Vanderpool were charged in August 2016, with firearms and heroin trafficking offenses. Miller and Vanderpool have pleaded guilty before United States District Judge Richard Caputo and are awaiting sentencing.
The matter was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Pennsylvania State Police. Assistant United States Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo is prosecuting the case.
This case was brought as part of the Violent Crime Reduction Partnership (“VCRP"), a district wide initiative to combat the spread of violent crime in the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the VCRP consists of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies whose mission is to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit violent crimes with firearms.
This case also was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic regarding the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the Heroin Initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who commit heroin related offenses.
Informations are only allegations. All persons charged are presumed to be innocent unless and until found guilty in court.
A sentence following a finding of guilt is imposed by the Judge after consideration of the applicable federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
The maximum penalties under federal law for the charges are 50 years of imprisonment, a term of supervised release following imprisonment, and a fine. The heroin conspiracy charge carries a five-year mandatory minimum sentence of imprisonment. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the Judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant's educational, vocational and medical needs. For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
