MARIETTA, Pa. — A Lancaster County man will serve up to 18 years in prison after his conviction for illegally possessing a firearm, terroristic threats, and simple abuse stemming from a 2022 domestic incident in Marietta, prosecutors said Monday.
Warren Raffensberger Jr., 68, was convicted in March of person not to possess a firearm and pleaded guilty to the other charges in May. He was sentenced last Wednesday to a prison term of eight to 18 years by Lancaster County Judge Jeffrey Conrad, according to the Lancaster County District Attorney's Office.
Assistant District Attorney Anthony Gilbert prosecuted the case and asked for a sentence starting at 13 years, noting the defendant’s lengthy history that showed a course of conduct including a 2008 conviction of a person not to possess a firearm.
“This man does not deserve the mercy of this court,” Gilbert said. “He tried to slither his way out of justice and manipulate the victim. The jury didn’t believe his story.”
Defense counsel stated the defendant’s conduct stemmed from anger as a result of pain management from a motorcycle accident that occurred in the 1990s.
According to authorities, on August 13, 2022, the Susquehanna Regional Police Department responded to a domestic call in the 300 block of E. Market Street in Marietta.
Police spoke with Raffensberger upon arrival, who stated he "flipped out" on his wife because he was in a lot of pain due to injuries sustained in an accident, according to the criminal complaint.
The defendant also stated he pushed but didn’t strike the victim in the face and that he was annoyed the victim was “thinking for him.”
The victim reported the defendant threatened to kill her and himself if she called the police and showed a video of the encounter to police where the defendant was heard saying, “I am going to beat you like a man” and “You have five minutes to master the cigarette maker, not five years, and if you don’t I am going to make you eat it all and beat your face in.”
The victim then showed police a rifle in an upstairs bedroom that belonged to the defendant, who was a felon unable to possess a firearm due to prior convictions of aggravated assault, burglary, theft, and robbery.
Susquehanna Regional Police Officer Carlos Crispin-Rodriguez filed charges and testified during trial.
