Swartz Sentenced

The Lewistown Sentinel

September 21, 2005

By Nick Malawskey and Frank J. Jost

Sentinel Reporters

What could be the final chapter regarding court proceedings for a Port Royal man’s involvement in a 2004 crime spree unfolded in the Mifflin County Court of Common Pleas on Tuesday.

Dustin J. Swartz, 20, of Port Royal, received a concurrent sentence of five to 10 years in state prison for his role in the Nov. 23 theft of six handguns from Lewistown Hunting and Fishing.

Swartz appeared before Judge Timothy S. Searer for sentencing in the case Tuesday morning.

“This is a crime spree that’s been well documented and prosecuted in three different jurisdictions,” Searer said.

“A lot of it appears to have started with the theft of these guns in our county. Why am I the last county to give out a sentence,” Searer said, aiming his question at Swartz’s defense attorney, Justin McShane.

“Why aren’t these other counties giving concurrent sentences on top of my sentence? That’s what I want to know,” Searer said.

Searer was referring to sentences Swartz received for a string of robberies in both Juniata and Franklin counties.

Court records indicate Swartz was sentenced 10 to 20 years in state prison in Juniata County for the Nov. 24 robbery of the Mifflintown Weis Market and the Oct. 19 robbery of the First National Bank of Mifflintown, East Waterford Branch.

Swartz also received a concurrent sentence of five to 15 years for the Nov. 12 robbery of a Franklin County Uni-Mart.

According to documents, several of the guns stolen from Lewistown Hunting and Fishing were used by Swartz and his co-defendants in the commission of the Weis robbery.

McShane told the judge he was unable to get all three district attorneys to agree on consolidating the charges under one jurisdiction. Then various scheduling conflicts ultimately determined the order of court appearances for Swartz in each jurisdiction, McShane said.

“What is important for my client now is that his family is here. They’ve been extremely supportive of him through all of these proceedings,

“I’m not excusing his actions – his level of culpability is high. But concurrent with that, so is his level of remorse,” McShane said.

District Attorney Stephen Snook said he had taken Swartz’s sentences in other counties and his cooperation with authorities into consideration when working out a plea agreement.

“In this case, we feel a concurrent sentence is appropriate,” Snook said.

In addition to the concurrent prison time, Searer ordered Swartz to pay court costs and a fine of $1,000.

Two of Swartz’s co-defendants from the Weis robbery, Stanford “Tommy” Adler and Michael S. Bryan, face further court action in connection with the Lewistown burglary.

Adler was sentenced Sept. 6 to serve 11 to 22 years in state prison for his role in both the Weis and bank robberies. His attorney, Michael Sheldon, said he hopes to have Adler enter a plea to his Mifflin County charges on Sept. 27.

Bryan was sentenced Monday to serve two and a half to five years in state prison for his role in the Weis robbery. He pleaded guilty to his Mifflin County charges on Aug. 20, and is scheduled for sentencing in November.

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