25-year-old Harshpreet Singh, an Indian in the US, has pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by an alien illegally in the US. He was charged in October last year after the Pennsylvania Police busted him during a 2024 investigation into an attempted burglary. The attempted burglary, however, was no ordinary incident. It led investigators to stashes of drugs, arms and they found out that the man who called 911 to report the burglary was not an innocent one. He was allegedly dealing with drugs. All of the individuals involved in this case are Indian-orgin.
On August 28, 2024, officers from Bethel Township Police Department were dispatched to a residence in the unit block of Legion Drive for a reported burglary in progress. The officers found a man with a gunshot wound near the residence from where the burglary was reported. Pennsylvania State Police started the investigation, which revealed that a male who resideed at the Legion Drive address encountered two masked intruders, armed with handguns, inside the home.
The man fired at the intruders with a rifle, striking one. The intruders then fled the house.
After executing several search warrants, investigators discovered approximately 850 grams of cocaine, narcotics paraphernalia, and several firearms, including a shotgun with an obliterated serial number, inside the Legion Drive address.
Gurlal Singh was awoken past midnight by the sound of soft knocking on his door. Then he heard a loud bang on his basement door as if someone was trying to break in. He picked up his assault rifle and confronted two armed men who were ransacking the first floor of his house. He fired at one of them and then locked himself up in his bedroom and called 911.
Gurlal Singh (29) and Ramanpreet Singh (24) were charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance. Amarbir Singh (24,) Amandeep Kaur (38,) Harshpreet Singh (23) and Kuljinder Singh (33) were charged with burglary, conspiracy, aggravated assault, terroristic threats and reckless endangerment.
Harshpreet has now pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced on July 9 and faces a maximum possible term of 15 years’ imprisonment, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
