PORT CARBON (AP) - The former Gilberton borough police chief charged with lying on an application for the purchase of a firearm had charges against him dismissed Tuesday.

Mark A. Kessler, 45, ofFrackville, appeared for a preliminary hearing on charges of felony making false statements pertaining to the sale or transfer of firearms and misdemeanor unsworn falsification to authorities.After hearing about 20 minutes of testimony from the arresting officer, state police Cpl. Alan Zulick of the Frackville station, Magisterial District Judge David A. Plachko dismissed both charges, saying the commonwealth did not produce enough evidence to prove a prima facie case.Plachko said the prosecution's case fell "woefully short" of meeting the required burden of proof.Zulick testified that on May 5, 2016, Kessler tried to purchase a firearm at Dunham's store in the Schuylkill Mall, New Castle Township, and completed paperwork as part of a background check required by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.Zulick said the transaction was denied and a subsequent investigation revealed that Kessler provided inaccurate information while completing the paperwork pertaining to criminal history. In that section, Zulick said, Kessler said he was not under indictment for a crime that could carry a prison sentence of one year or more.Zulick said at the time of the application, Kessler was still facing court action on charges of terroristic threats, harassment and disorderly conduct. Although that case was disposed of in August 2016, it was still pending at the time the firearms application was completed.The corporal said that Kessler completed the application in the presence of Tim Kernag, assistant store manager, but attorney Robert Kirwan, Reading, Kessler's lawyer, questioned Zulick as to what proof he hadthat his client actually completed the form.Under questioning by Kirwan, Zulick said he never interviewed Kessler to get his side of the story and that Kessler also refused to speak with him unless he was in the presence of his attorney.Zulick also said that the section pertaining to Kessler's driver's license identification was filled out by store personnel. He later corrected his statement, saying that by law, Kessler himself was required to complete that part of the document.Kirwan also attacked a line of questioning by John Fegley, first assistant district attorney, that Kernag would be available to testify should the case come to trial at a later date.Under questioning by Kirwan, Zulick said he spoke to the store manager at Dunham's on Tuesday about Kernag being available to testify but did not speak to Kernag himself.In arguing that the charges should be dismissed, Kirwan told the court that Zulick made a mistake when testifying about the form, never interviewed witnesses and never spoke to Kernag, the man with direct ties to the transaction."They (prosecutors) came here with no evidence and expect you to bind it over to court," Kirwan told Plachko.Fegley countered by saying Dunham's has the original records of the transaction and that the store manager guaranteed Kernag would be available at a later date.Kirwan said that without speaking to Kernag in person, the prosecution has no idea what his future plans are and where he will be months down the line if the case goes to county court.After the ruling, Fegley said prosecutors will refile the charges against Kessler at a later date.