Annville man gets 30 months in federal prison for selling ghost guns

A 35-year-old Annville man will spend more than two years in federal prison for illegally selling ghost guns and ammunition without a license.

Hector Colon was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer P. Wilson to 30 months’ imprisonment followed by 12 months of supervised release. He also must pay $100 in financial penalties.

Colon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to engage in the business of selling firearms without a license.

According to U.S. Attorney Brian D. Miller, Colon and co-defendant Samuel Snader sold 28 privately made firearms — commonly called ghost guns — and 420 rounds of ammunition between August 2021 and January 2022.

Colon negotiated the sales while Snader assembled the firearms using kits purchased online. The weapons were sold for cash and handed off in a Walmart parking lot, prosecutors said.

Wilson found that Colon had reason to believe the firearms would end up in the hands of a prohibited person or be used in a felony, saying he exhibited “a blind indifference to public safety.”

All 28 firearms and the ammunition were recovered by law enforcement.

Ghost guns are difficult to trace because they lack serial numbers required on commercially manufactured firearms.

Snader also pleaded guilty and was sentenced in September 2024 to 12 months and a day imprisonment, followed by one year of supervised release.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Scott F. Ford prosecuted.