A Lansford man is in jail on charges he stole a semiautomatic pistol from a home in Coaldale.

State police charged Matthew D. Ferguson, 43, with theft by unlawful taking and receiving stolen property.

Troopers were contacted just before 3 p.m. Sept. 4 by a woman who said that her Smith and Wesson semiautomatic pistol was stolen on Sept. 2. She said Ferguson was at her home assisting with a project and asked to use her restroom. She noted that the weapon was stored in a second floor bedroom near the restroom.

She told police that she suspected Ferguson removed the gun since he was the only one in that area of the home.

She said that Ferguson returned to her home on Sept. 5, and asked her for a place to stay since he is transient. She said she told him that he could not stay and that she wanted the gun returned. She told police that he offered her a shotgun that he had instead of the handgun.

Police interviewed two witnesses who said they saw Ferguson with the victim’s firearm. One of the witnesses claimed that Ferguson told them, “Some guy in Coaldale gave me this gun.”

Ferguson was taken into custody and arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Stephen Bayer in Tamaqua. He was unable to post $50,000 cash bail and sent to Schuylkill County Prison.