Thirty-four-year-old Nathan VanDerAa, of Star City, received his sentence in U.S. District Court Friday from Judge Robert Miller, Jr. of 33 months in the Bureau of Prisons and two years of supervised release following his plea of guilty to charges of Unlawful User of a Controlled Substance in Possession of a Firearm. This case was the result of an investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Frank Schaffer.
A high-end sentence was deemed appropriate because of VanDerAa’s criminal history, and the fact that he fired and possessed several firearms and was found with a large amount of ammunition. Additionally, he reported a history of substance abuse and does not show an inclination to stop. Furthermore, the presence of his nine year old son in the situation shows extremely poor judgment, and he violated his probation on a DUI case.
