The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Alnaldo Perez-Rodriguez, age 35, of Shenandoah, was indicted on Tuesday by a federal grand jury for firearms and drug trafficking offenses.

According to U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus, the indictment charges Perez-Rodriguez with being in possession of a Walther .380-caliber pistol in furtherance of drug trafficking, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, and being in possession of fentanyl and methamphetamine for distribution in Schuylkill County on Dec. 3, 2021.

The case was investigated by the FBI Safe Streets Task Force, the Schuylkill County Drug Task Force, State Parole Agents, and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert J. O’Hara is prosecuting the case.

This matter was prosecuted as part of the joint federal, state, and local Project Safe Neighborhoods Program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.

PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime.

Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.

As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

Under federal law, for the firearms charges, Perez-Rodriguez faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, which must run consecutive to any other sentence, a maximum sentence of life, a term of supervised release and a fine.

For the drug charges, Perez-Rodriguez faces a maximum sentence of 20 years, a term of supervised release and a fine.

Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the judge is also required to consider and weigh a number of factors, including the nature, circumstances and seriousness of the offense; the history and characteristics of the defendant; and the need to punish the defendant, protect the public and provide for the defendant’s educational, vocational and medical needs.

For these reasons, the statutory maximum penalty for the offense is not an accurate indicator of the potential sentence for a specific defendant.