A Pottstown man whose stabbing injuries during an incident in Berks County prompted an investigation that culminated in authorities destroying a multi-county gun trafficking network will face court supervision for several years for his role in the organization.
James Darell Hiller, 20, of the 600 block of Beech Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 11½ to 23 months in jail after pleading guilty to felony charges of corrupt organizations, selling or transferring firearms to ineligible persons, criminal use of a communication facility, and conspiracy between January and July 2024.
Judge Risa Vetri Ferman also sentenced Hiller to serve two years of probation after his parole, which means he will be under court supervision for nearly four years.
Hiller was anticipated to be released immediately after serving around 16 months in jail while awaiting legal action.
“Gun trafficking is a serious and dangerous violation. I believe you understand the dangers of this type of behavior,” Ferman told Hiller, who was stabbed while attempting to sell an illegal rifle.
Hiller was one of nine Pottstown and Berks County males arrested in July 2024 for involvement in a gun trafficking ring that illegally obtained, produced, and marketed handguns, 3-D printed ghost guns, suppressors, and switches.
Hiller was accused of four illicit firearm transfers.
When Hiller pled guilty in March, prosecutors agreed not to pursue potential 5-year mandatory penalties for three of the unlawful gun transfers to which he admitted, provided he testified truthfully at the trial of two other Pottstown men involved in the illegal gun activity.
Hiller did testify for prosecutors three weeks ago in the trial of Keith Michael Chaney, 26, of the unit block of North Charlotte Street, and Desmond Tyon Bennett, 32, of the 200 block of King Street, who were found guilty by a jury of multiple charges, including unlawful sale or transfer of firearms, conspiracy, and criminal use of a communication facility in connection with the gun trafficking organization. Chaney and Bennett remain in county jail until their sentence hearings later this year.
“We believe he testified truthfully,” Assistant District Attorney Kathleen Alane McLaughlin told Ferman, who presided over Chaney and Bennett’s trial and witnessed Hiller’s testimony.
Ferman found that Hiller’s cooperation warranted a sentence in the ordinary range of state sentencing guidelines. Nonetheless, Ferman expressed some reservations.
“Your interest in weaponry makes me scared for you. “I’m not sure if you’ll be able to avoid it, but you must,” said Ferman, telling Hiller that if he breaks his sentence, he will face severe prison time. “You have tremendous potential to live a wonderful life if you make the right choices.”
Hiller addressed the judge before the sentence was issued, stating he accepts responsibility for his part in the group and apologizes for his actions.
“I never want to go back and repeat the same mistakes. I want to learn from my mistakes and make better choices. I am young, and I know I have promise. “I’m a smart young man; I could do better with my life,” Hiller told the judge.
“I shouldn’t have played with weapons in the first place. Fortunately, no one was wounded. I’d like to apologize to the community. I simply want to be a man, put this behind me, and go forward to a better and brighter future that will make my mother happy,” Hiller added.
McLaughin, who handled the case alongside co-prosecutor Robert Joseph Waeltz Jr., described Hiller as a clever young man.
“I would hope that when you get out, you use that for good,” McLaughlin said to Hiller, imploring him to make better decisions in the future.
Based on approved state sentencing guidelines, defense attorney Gregory DiPippo argued for a time-served sentence for Hiller, urging the judge to consider Hiller’s acknowledgment of guilt and amount of cooperation with law enforcement.
“He accepted responsibility immediately. He was the first to plead guilty. He does not make excuses for his behavior. “There is substantial mitigation,” DiPippo contended. “He has matured.”
Hiller, according to DiPippo, has completed various counseling and reentry programs at the jail and wishes to further his education and become a contributing member of the community.
Chaney and Bennett are the only defendants to face a jury. Hiller and seven other members of the gun trafficking network have previously pled guilty or no contest to a variety of offenses.
During Chaney and Bennett’s joint trial, two other witnesses testified against them.
The inquiry began on February 1, 2024, when Pottstown police were called to Pottstown Hospital regarding a stabbing victim. Hiller, the victim, originally told police that he was stabbed in Pottstown during an argument over a little amount of marijuana.
Investigators discovered that the stabbing occurred in Birdsboro, Berks County, when Hiller, who was 18 at the time and was not permitted to buy or keep a pistol, attempted to sell an illegal firearm and was stabbed by an unknown buyer, according to court documents.
According to authorities, the investigation into that single firearm sale has extended, showing other members of the gun trafficking organization as well as the group’s criminal actions.
Authorities claimed the gun trafficking network operated from a storage locker in the 300 block of Laurel Street in Pottstown, as well as residences where some of the defendants lived, and that the 3-D goods were made at a residence in Earl Township.
“The group specialized in acquiring and distributing illegal firearms to its customers. They used a variety of methods to achieve this goal,” county Detective Drew Marino and Pottstown Detective Michael Damiano wrote in the criminal complaint.
Prosecutors allege that members of the criminal group obtained and distributed 31 illicit guns. Guns were acquired from gun dealers in eight counties: Montgomery, Berks, Bucks, Chester, Columbia, Lehigh, Wayne, and Westmoreland.
At the time of the arrests, authorities said that 17 of the 31 guns acquired by the group had been recovered, some during searches. However, others were discovered during investigations into other criminal occurrences, including a road rage incident in New Hanover.
Detectives busted the organization using a variety of investigative techniques, including analyzing cellphone data, social media posts, tracking multiple firearm purchases by some of the defendants via the state’s Electronic Record of Sale system, reviewing copies of state and federal firearms purchase forms at gun stores, and conducting surveillance.
The following agencies assisted the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Violent Crime Unit and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Gun Violence Task Force during the investigation: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
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