Indian National Illegally in U.S. Pleads Guilty to Gun Possession (DOJ)

PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Harshpreet Singh, 25, an Indian national illegally in the U.S., entered a plea of guilty today before United States District Judge Catherine Henry to possession of a firearm by an alien illegally or unlawfully in the United States.

The defendant was charged by indictment in October of last year.

As detailed in court filings, on August 28, 2024, at approximately 1:17 a.m., Pennsylvania State Police troopers and Bethel Township Police Department officers responded to a Bethel, Pennsylvania, residence for a report of a shooting incident relating to a home invasion. At the same time, Berks County police dispatch advised officers of a call for a gunshot victim at a gas station less than half a mile away from the residence.

Officers found A.S., charged elsewhere, inside of a vehicle at the gas pumps with a gunshot wound to the torso, with the defendant and a co-defendant also in the vehicle.

After A.S. was transported to the hospital for treatment, police officers canvassed the area around the gas station and discovered two firearms in a gravel lot across the street: a Taurus 9mm semi-automatic pistol, loaded with 12 live rounds of ammunition; and a privately manufactured firearm bearing no serial number, loaded with 17 live rounds of 9mm ammunition.

Another firearm, a Glock .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol, loaded with 13 live rounds of ammunition, was located in the yard of the residence that had reported the home invasion.

Forensic testing on the three guns subsequently found a DNA profile consistent with a mixture of four contributors, with Harshpreet Singh included as a potential contributor to this mixture profile.

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on July 9 and faces a maximum possible term of 15 years' imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, Pennsylvania State Police, and the Bethel Township (Berks County) Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rosalynda M. Michetti.