A Pottsville man was recently sentenced in federal court to five years in prison on a weapons charge.

The sentencing was announced by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.

Cornelius Green, 37, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Robert D. Mariani for one count of being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm.

According to Acting U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus, Green previously pleaded guilty to possessing a .308 semi-automatic rifle that had been shipped or transported in interstate commerce. Green knew he was barred from having a gun, because of his criminal background.

Mariani ordered the five-year sentence to run consecutive to an earlier seven-year sentence of imprisonment previously imposed for Green’s brandishing of a firearm in a robbery.

The case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods, a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make neighborhoods safer for everyone.

On May 26, 2021, the Department of Justice launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in communities; supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence; setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities; and measuring the results.

Green was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Schuylkill Haven Borough Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney James M. Buchanan prosecuted the case.