A Glassport man accused by police of selling several guns stolen from a North Huntingdon home was arraigned Wednesday on theft charges.
John S. Hudak, 47, took photographs of the guns and communicated with potential buyers through Facebook messages, according to court papers. Police believe 13 handguns and long guns were involved.
The theft was reported Aug. 15, 2021, by a township woman who said the guns, a credit card, a debit card and other personal items were missing after Hudak pushed her down a flight of stairs at her home a couple of weeks earlier. She was dropped off by Hudak to seek medical treatment for injuries sustained in the fall, police said.
She told police she later learned Hudak had credit and identification cards belonging to the woman and her husband when he checked into a drug rehabilitation facility in McKeesport. There had been about $1,400 worth of fraudulent purchases made on one of the credit cards. Police obtained surveillance footage that showed Hudak using the card, according to court papers.
Officers caught up with Hudak at an Indiana County treatment facility and seized his cellphone. On it, investigators said they found communications in late July and early August 2021 with multiple people that contained photographs of the safe at the township home and guns inside of it, as well as individual firearms.
Hudak denied involvement in an initial interview but later told investigators he sold the guns for either cash or as a trade for drugs, according to court papers. One of the stolen guns was recovered when township police located a 16-year-old girl who had been reported missing with an Ohio man at a North Huntingdon motel in June.
Hudak is facing counts of unlawful possession of a firearm, theft, receiving stolen property, access device fraud, simple assault and related offenses. He previously was convicted of robbery, police said, which prohibits him from possessing a gun.
Hudak was being held on $75,000 bail at the Westmoreland County Prison. He did not have an attorney listed in online court records. A Sept. 28 preliminary hearing is set.
