Gun, drug factory allegedly found in apartment

MEDIA » A borough man has been arrested for allegedly producing untraceable “ghost guns” and methamphetamine in an apartment in the downtown business corridor.

“Guns and drugs, that’s what this defendant was manufacturing in an apartment on State Street in Media, an area busy with office workers as well as children, and only a block away from the courthouse,” county District Attorney Jack Stollsteimer said in a release Thursday. “In addition to the obvious dangers of the products he was producing, the defendant discharged firearms in his apartment without regard for

the safety of his neighbors or borough residents.”

Jeffrey Neithammer, 36, of the 300 block of West State Street, is charged with one count each of discharging a firearm into an occupied structure, possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, as well as three counts of reckless endangerment, according to online court records.

The arrest resulted from a search of Neithammer’s apartment after police and firefighters responded to a call about a smoke detector Sunday and discovered drug and ghost gun manufacturing materials, according to an affidavit of probable cause for his arrest written by Police Lt. Matthew Egan.

The Media Fire Co. and Media Borough Police Department responded to

Pompei State Street Sandwiches at 301 W. State St. at about 11:37 a.m. for a report of a fire alarm, the affidavit says.

The building’s landlord soon arrived and granted first responders access to apartments and the basement as they searched for the source of the alarm, according to the affidavit.

There was no answer when firefighters and police knocked on Neithammer’s apartment door, the affidavit says. Upon gaining entry, they found the unit littered with trash and in disarray, according to Egan, and the pathway to the kitchen was completely blocked by wood and other items.

The landlord and firefighters initially believed that they found a body lying in the living room area of the apartment, but later determined the person, identified as Neithammer, was alive. Firefighters also told police they saw evidence that the apartment was being

used as a methamphetamine lab, the affidavit says.

Egan and Police Sgt. Robert Brown spoke to Neithammer, who was “very pale and sweating profusely,” with a sheet around his waist, according to the affidavit. When officers entered the apartment to check the fire alarms, they allegedly found metal working equipment, and various gun-making and drug paraphernalia inside, including a computer pad with white powder, a straw and razor on it near where Neithammer had been found earlier. Police also found several large bottles in the bathroom, one of which had a hose sticking out of it, and wires and computers scattered around the apartment, according to the affidavit.

Neithammer was detained on drug possession and paraphernalia charges, and a bomb squad was called in to ensure there were no explosive compounds on scene, the affidavit

says.

County Detective Brian Alexander, a member of the bomb squad, cleared the apartment as safe, and Egan and county Detective Sgt. Anthony Ruggieri secured a search warrant for the premises, according to the affidavit.

Among the items seized during the search were two ghost guns, both with silencers attached, as well as two pistols, one of which also had a silencer, an altered .22 cal. rifle with a scope, and numerous other 3D-printed and metal silencer attachments, the affidavit says.

Police also found methamphetamine, cocaine, numerous 3D-printed handgun magazines, various other 3D-printed gun parts including a printed A-R rifle lower, and manufacturing machines including a 3D printer, lathes, drill presses, sanders and saws.

Police also found numerous bullet holes in doors, ceilings and planks of wood littered throughout the apartment along with fired cartridge casings, indicating Neithammer had been firing weapons inside.

The affidavit notes the 3D printed guns and silencers found on site were operable and worked as intended. Neithammer pleaded guilty to a felony firearm charge in Philadelphia in 2012, making him ineligible to own or possess firearms, the affidavit says.

“Sadly, this case lays bare the ease with which guns can now be obtained in our community,” said Stollsteimer. “We are awash in guns, and those guns endanger the lives of first responders and ordinary citizens every day. We must fight this battle every day, in every way we can — we want the defendant and his products off our streets.”

Stollsteimer commended the members of Media Fire Co. and the Media Police Department, Police Chief Martin Wusinich, the other first responders who assisted in the investigation, and detectives Ruggieri and Alexander.

Neithammer was arraigned before Magisterial District Judge Walter A. Strohl, who set bail at 10% of $200,000. Neithammer has been remanded to the county jail in Concord awaiting a preliminary hearing set for May 20 before Magisterial District Judge Andrew Goldberg. No defense attorney is listed in online court records.

Jeffrey Neithammer