A McKeesport man was ordered to serve up to 10 years in state prison for the theft of guns from a North Huntingdon home in 2021.
John Steven Hudak, 50, pleaded guilty last year to four felony counts in connection to allegations he stole more than a dozen guns and sold or traded to fuel a drug addiction.
Common Pleas Court Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio sentenced Hudak on Tuesday to serve 5-to-10 years in prison. Hudak was given credit for the nearly two years he served in jail as he awaited disposition of the case against him as it moved through the local and appeals courts.
According to court records, Hudak stole 13 guns from a safe in a North Huntingdon home while its owner was out-of-town on a multi-week trip with his daughter.
Bilik-DeFazio in 2023 dismissed 51 of the 66 counts initially filed against Hudak, ruling prosecutors had insufficient evidence to support the case against Hudak in connection with all but three of the alleged stolen weapons.
A state Superior Court panel of judges subsequently reinstated 50 of those counts, ruling there was direct and circumstantial evidence that included photos found on Hudak’s cellphone of the alleged stolen guns and text messages detailing the efforts to sell and trade the weapons for drugs.
Hudak last June pleaded guilty to single counts of theft, illegal possession of a firearm, receiving stolen property and illegal firearm ownership. The remaining charges were dismissed.
