Former Bradford Resident, Daniel Minich, previously convicted of discharging a firearm into an occupied structure and other charges has been sentenced by President Judge John H. Pavlock to a period of incarceration in state prison for 26 months to 52 months.  He had credit of 77 days already served.  Daniel MINICH, formerly of Onofrio Street in Bradford, had been convicted by a jury on May 23, 2023.

On December 9, 2021, Officers with City of Bradford Police Department responded after learning that Minich was firing his firearm from within his house and sending photos of his television that he had shot to Chief Ward.  He continued to send messages to Chief Ward and refused entry to the other officers unless Chief Ward were to appear.   MINICH then fired several rounds from his front porch and told Ward that the neighbors would be calling him now. 

Ward and other officers from Bradford City, Bradford Township and Pennsylvania State Police went to the area and Chief Ward was able to make contact with MINICH, who was inside his house.  MINICH then exited his residence and threw a firearm into his front yard where it was retrieved by officers with a live round in the chamber.

MINICH was taken into custody.  Officers tracked the bullets’ trajectory and found that one bullet had entered the siding and framing of a neighbor’s home and another bullet had entered and ricocheted inside another neighbor’s shed which was next to that person’s house before exiting the shed.  That homeowner’s teenage son was inside the residence near the shed when the shots were fired into the shed.  Methamphetamine was found in Minich’s home.

MINICH was convicted of Discharge of a Firearm Into an Occupied Structure, Recklessly Endangering Another Person, Possession of a Controlled Substance, and two counts of Criminal Mischief. 

In addition to incarceration, MINICH was ordered to have no contact with any of the victims, no contact with Chief Ward except for legitimate law enforcement matters, drug and alcohol and mental health evaluation and treatment, lab fees and provide a DNA sample.  He is not eligible for any early parole.  

District Attorney Stephanie Vettenburg-Shaffer prosecuted the case on behalf of the Commonwealth.  City of Bradford Police Officer Joshua Frederoski investigated the case.