On a sunny afternoon in May 2021, Cynthia Salvador-Branch was embroiled in yet another dispute with her estranged husband, Curtis Lamour Branch, at their home in Port Carbon.

But instead of stopping with a barrage of angry words, Branch shot her in the neck when she tried to leave.

Salvador-Branch was able to drive to the nearby borough police station, where she walked in, bloodied, asking for help.

Salvador-Branch survived, and her estranged husband, who pleaded guilty to attempted murder and illegal possession of a firearm, is serving 22½ to 50 years at Rockview state prison.

For First Assistant Schuylkill County District Attorney Michael J. Stine, the assault stands out as one of the most compelling reasons to apply for a new state grant targeting gun crimes.

“We have seen a number of (gun) cases related to domestic violence. That’s troubling,” he said.

Stine on Oct. 13 applied for $189,441 of the $50 million of American Rescue Plan Act money the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency has made available to help law enforcement curb increasingly prevalent gun crimes.

The agency will determine who gets the grants on Dec. 14. The money will become available on Jan. 1, 2023.

PCCD has set aside $5 million - 10% of the $50 million - for rural areas like Schuylkill County. The rest will go to areas with high gun crime rates, like Philadelphia.

“I think we have a good chance,” Stine said. “We’re asking for less than 5 percent of the $5 million.”

The two-year grant would pay for a detective dedicated to investigating and prosecuting crimes involving firearms, Stine said.

Some of the money would also buy protective gear, such as bullet proof vests, side arms and rifles, and an SUV.

After the grant ends, Stine said, his office would seek to renew the grant through PCCD, or ask the county for funding to continue the fight.

The funding is needed, Stine said.

The assault of Cynthia Salvador-Branch was among those counted by the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System

Since Jan. 1, 2020, Schuylkill County has reported six homicides; 14 robberies using a gun; 50 assaults with guns; and 182 instances of weapons offenses, including illegally possessing or carrying guns, according to the Pennsylvania Uniform Crime Reporting System.

Uses for money

According to PCCD, the grants can be used for five categories:

1. To improve and enhance coordination of federal, state, and local law enforcement investigations and prosecutions of violations of firearms laws.

2. To support personnel costs, including salaries and overtime, relating to investigations and prosecutions of gun law violations and crimes of violence involving firearms, with priority given to applications focusing on straw purchasers and firearms trafficking.

3. To purchase technology systems, including related hardware and software, to improve investigations and prosecutions or increase clearance rates, including the purchase of gunshot detection technology and other technologies that support firearm violence reduction initiatives.

4. Initiatives that support the tracing of firearms used to commit crimes or delinquent acts and the identification of illegal firearms traffickers.

5. Any other efforts that aid in the investigation, arrest, and prosecution of a crime involving firearms.

In Schuylkill, “the objective would be to enhance collaboration between the district attorney and municipal police for the investigation of crimes involving guns, and to collaborate with state police and the FBI,” Stine said. “We did receive letters of support from the FBI and the state and municipal police.”

The dedicated detective would investigate all types of firearms crimes, including homicides, assaults, straw purchases (buying guns for those prohibited from having them), and firearms trafficking, Stine said.

Also, he said the detective would “collaborate with school resource officers to identify any students with a propensity to come into possession of illegal firearms.”

School shootings are happening across the nation, and Stine said he wants to “give school resource officers another person to collaborate with to support them.”

“We hired a grant writer on a one-time basis to assist us in applying for the grant,” said District Attorney Michael A. O’Pake.

“Mike and I feel it’s very important to receive because of the increasing numbers of crimes being committed with guns in Schuylkill County,” he said.