January 21, 2015- Commonwealth v. James K. Patterson:  Dauphin County Judge Richard Lewis sentenced James K. Patterson, age 23 of Harrisburg, to five to ten years in state prison.  The sentence, for an illegal firearm possession charge, was the result of Patterson's involvement in a shooting incident in March of 2012.  During that incident, Patterson was shot in the chest at the corner of North and 19th Streets in the City of Harrisburg by an unknown assailant.  Patterson returned fire at his assailant.  After being shot, Patterson stumbled several blocks, ditched his firearm and collapsed on State Street.  During the subsequent Harrisburg Police investigation into the shooting, Patterson was unwilling to cooperate with authorities regarding the identity of the assailant.  However, Patterson himself became a subject of the investigation due to his previous 2006 robbery conviction.  As a result of that conviction, he was not permitted to possess a firearm.  In addition to the robbery conviction, Patterson was also sentenced for a 2012 drug dealing conviction and two subsequent escape charges where he fled police.  His repeated failure to appear for court delayed the prosecution of his cases.  He was eventually apprehended in the Fall of 2014. 

This case was prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Stephen R. Zawisky who indicated that, "Illegal gun possession is an ongoing serious problem on our streets.  The message from today's sentencing is that violators of Pennsylvania’s Uniform Firearms Act will be prosecuted and will face strict sentencing guidelines upon conviction."