HOLLIDAYSBURG — An Indiana County man convicted by a Blair County jury of 11 counts of illegal possession of a firearm was sentenced Monday to 10-to-20-years’ incarceration.

Eldon Allen Sajko, 54, who has related drug-trafficking offenses pending in Blair County, including a delivery leading to the 2022 overdose death of an Altoona man, asked Senior Judge Richard Lewis of Dauphin County to consider a time-served sentence or a probationary sentence.

“For the past two years I’ve been in jail, God has helped me see where I’ve been making mistakes,” Sajko said.

Lewis, however, imposed consecutive sentences of five to 10 years each for two of the firearm convictions, yielding the total sentence of 10 to 20 years.

The judge also handed down additional sentences of five to 10 years for each of the other nine convictions, but ordered them to be served concurrently.

“It is a significant sentence,” District Attorney Pete Weeks said outside court. “But the Commonwealth was seriously disadvantaged in this case because the judge didn’t have all the information and details that surfaced during trial.”

Lewis presided over the sentencing in the absence of trial judge Fred B. Miller, who has been on medical leave.

In a pre-sentence memorandum, Weeks asked for a sentence of 20-to-40-years’ incarceration for Sajko and referenced the defendant’s criminal history spanning four decades in three states and the need for public protection.

“He shows no signs that his previous opportunities for diversionary outcome, sentences of treatment, supervision and incarceration have reformed him,” Weeks said.

Defense attorney Kristen Anastasi said Monday night that she didn’t think Sajko’s conduct warranted additional incarceration time, but was pleased that the judge rejected Weeks’ “draconian” request.

“The Commonwealth’s recommendation of 20-to-40-years’ imprisonment ensured the defendant would likely die in jail and failed to take into consideration his rehabilitative needs … and only served to punish,” she said.

Sajko’s arrest dates back to Sept. 8, 2022, when West Drug Task Force agents and other police officers converged at his residence in Penn Run with an arrest warrant for drug-trafficking offenses. The warrant included a drug delivery resulting in death charge in connection with the

Feb. 18, 2022, death of Joseph Charles Sr., 41, found inside a residence on the 1600 block of 20th Avenue.

When Sajko took off on an ATV into the woods, officers summoned a state police helicopter for help, but he later surrendered and claimed to be rounding up his dogs.

During a search of Sajko’s property, police found methamphetamine, cocaine, digital scales and cash. They also seized guns on Sajko’s property, including one found under a bucket and another in the crockpot.

During his trial in May and again in court on Monday, Sajko referred to himself as an outdoorsman who has possessed guns for years and used them for hunting and for protection on his rural property.

During trial and again on Monday, Anastasi took the position that Sajko didn’t know that he wasn’t allowed to own guns. She referred to Sajko’s out-of-state felony convictions in 1997 and 1999 as ancient.

Weeks disagreed and referenced Sajko’s criminal history showing that in December 2000 in Florida, Sajko negotiated a plea to address a felony not to possess a firearm charge, then served a period of incarceration.

“This defendant lied and continues to lie about his ignorance of his probation as a person not to possess a firearm,” Weeks said.

Anastasi tried to counter Week’s position by telling Lewis that there’s no allegations of Sajko using his guns to sell drugs.

But Weeks pointed out that at the time of his arrest, Sajko knew he was under investigation for drug trafficking and that there was a forthcoming federal indictment alleging large-scale drug-trafficking activity.

“I would submit that it’s disingenuous,” Weeks said, “to suggest that this defendant was crime free, living a life of peace and tranquility in the woods … and that law enforcement officers set upon him for no reason and decided to execute a search warrant and seize his guns.”

Lewis also directed Sajko to submit to drug and alcohol, mental health and any other evaluations recommended during his state prison incarceration.

Mirror Staff Writer Kay Stephens is at 814-946-7456.