Credit: Bucks County District Attorney’s Office
A Bristol Township man is behind bars and charged in Bucks County with crimes related to purchasing and attempting to purchase firearms.
The man’s alleged actions have drawn the attention of FBI special agents and led them to investigate possible links to terrorism.
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Two sources with knowledge of the investigation said the authorities have been eyeing Noah Dratfield, 32, in connection with a number of firearms he purchased and where they ended up. The investigation has involved Bensalem police, Bucks County Detectives, the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office and the FBI’s Philadelphia and Newark, New Jersey, field offices.
“Unlike most firearms-related cases, the Commonwealth believes and avers that the defendant intended to use the weapons he purchased and/or the proceeds from them not to further street crimes but to support domestic and/or international terror groups,” according to a bail petition filed by prosecutors in the final days of 2017.
An FBI spokesperson said Department of Justice mandates that they do not comment or confirm investigations.
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The district attorney’s office also said they were not issuing comment on the case.
Dratfield goes by the name “Nua Abdullah Alarcon” and is an immigrant from Paraguay who was adopted as a minor by an American family, according to court papers obtained by LevittownNow.com and sources.
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In an affidavit of probable cause filed by Bucks County and state authorities, Dratfield is accused of making untrue statements on required paperwork for firearms purchases, including not listing his then-current address. He made purchases and applied to buy weapons at a store in Upper Southampton and one in Tullytown.
Over the course of the investigation, police said they learned Dratfield had purchased an AK-47 at a gun show in Montgomery County in October.
Dratfield is barred from purchasing firearms due to a marijuana arrest in Virginia where he served two months behind bars, police said.
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In an interview with investigators, Dratfield reportedly said he purchased 10 guns since February 2017 and they were in the garage of his home. He also allegedly admitted to two of the misrepresentations he filed on background check paperwork.
FBI special agents and the state attorney general’s office executed a search warrant on the Junewood Drive home in Bristol Township where Dratfield lived. They recovered two guns in the garage along with empty firearm boxes, tools, wires, hydraulic equipment and air compressors, officials said.
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Dratfield has been in the Bucks County Correctional facility since October 13.
He was charged and is awaiting formal arraignment at the Justice Center later this month on charges on numerous counts of materially false written statement related to the purchase, delivery, transfer of firearm; tamper with public record, unsworn falsification to authorities; and possession of a prohibited firearm.
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Dratfield’s initial bail, according to a docket sheet, was set by District Judge Robert Wagner at 10 percent of $750,000, but decreased by Bucks County Judge Raymond McHugh to 10 percent of $500,000 on December 28.
Prosecutors argued that an additional charge that was added, disobedience to staff at the Doylestown Township county correctional facility was reported and possible connection to terrorism meant bail should be increased and not decreased.
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Lou Busico, Dratfield’s attorney, successfully argued for lower bail, but a judge denied a motion to strike his alias.
McHugh did note that if bail was made, Dratfield would have to reside at his Bristol Township home, must wear a GPS monitoring device at all times and not leave the state.
Busico was not available when called for comment by this news organization.
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Editor’s Note: All individuals arrested or charged with a crime are presumed innocent until proven guilty. The story was compiled using information from police and public court documents.
