A former Martinsburg man who was sentenced earlier this year to 10 years in prison for his role in a ring that manufactured illegal ghost guns, kick kits and ammunition has filed a petition in U.S. District Court in Johnstown, requesting a reduction in his prison time.

Harry Miller, 48, was arrested in September 2023 along with former Altoona police detective Craig Zahradnik, 52, and Wayne Patrick Farabaugh, 55, of Altoona, an auto mechanic, on multiple federal charges stemming from their illegal manufacture and distribution of weapons. .

Farabaugh was recently sentenced to three years of probation.

Zahradnik remains out of prison due to illness. His sentencing date continues to be delayed at the request of his attorney.

Miller, however, was sentenced in May by Federal District Judge Stephanie L. Haines to 120 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release.

He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to manufacture and sell firearms without a license; possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; possession of a machine gun; firearms trafficking and the transfer of firearms in violation of the National Firearms Act, as well as other crimes.

Miller, who was known as a man who was “good at building things”, told the judge during the sentencing hearing that he was “very sorry and I realize what I did … I’m sorry that I let people down they believed in me. “

He said he asked God for mercy and noted that he wanted to straighten out his life.

His only request from the judge was that he be able to serve his prison term in a facility near his home in Blair County.

Records show Miller is currently being held at the federal prison in Loretto, Cambria County.

Miller, through the Federal Public Defender’s Office, recently filed an appeal in his case to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia.

And last week, Assistant Public Defender Ray Kim filed a petition in Johnstown asking Haines to reduce Miller’s sentence by at least 16 months because of a change in federal sentencing guidelines.

Late last week, Haines ordered the government to respond to the petition by Dec. 6.

Federal sentencing guidelines are complex and take into account a defendant’s criminal history, according to Kim’s petition.

Because of Miller’s record, the sentencing guidelines showed he had a seven-point criminal history score.

Among the seven criminal record counts, two of them (known as status counts) were included because he committed his gun crimes while on parole.

His criminal record thus reached a felony level of 27, meaning his sentence would be in the range of 100 to 125 months, the petition explained.

Haines’ sentence was 120 months.

According to the defense’s petition in the Miller case, the Federal Sentencing Commission recently reduced the number of statutory points that would be applicable in Miller’s case.

This had the effect of reducing the sentence range in question from 100 to 125 months to 87 to 108 months.

The commission made the new range of guidelines retroactive for a person in Miller’s situation, meaning his current sentence could be reduced because of the new guidelines.

The defense therefore requests that Miller’s sentence be reduced from 120 to 104 months.

The reason behind the reduction in status points, according to the defense petition, was a determination that they had little effect on recidivism rates among federal inmates.

“The proposed reduction is also consistent with the need to protect the public from future crimes,” according to Miller’s petition.

However, there is a problem with Miller’s claim.

Miller’s case is on appeal to the 3rd Circuit, meaning it is no longer in the hands of a district judge.

Thus, the defense is asking Haines to indicate that he will grant the reduced sentence and that he will seek a remand by the appeals court so that the new sentence can be imposed.

Basically, if the discount were granted, Miller’s release date would be June 3, 2030.

The current release date is October 3, 2031.