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<p>The eight months John &#8220;Jake&#8221; Hasay has been in federal custody for illegal possession of a machine gun could be all the time he serves behind bars if the court grants his request for a reduced sentence.</p><p>The time he&#8217;s served in the Lackawanna County Prison could qualify Hasay for home confinement or probation, his attorney argued in court papers filed a week before the April 23 sentencing for the son of former District Judge John Hasay of Shickshinny.</p><p>Attorney Al Flora Jr. of Wilkes-Barre asked for a downward departure to eight to 14 months from the guideline range of 24 to 30 months in prison for Hasay whose &#8220;fascination with guns&#8221; could be attributed to him possibly having a component of Asperger&#8217;s Disorder.</p><p>&#8220;He put no one in danger,&#8221; Flora said in the sentencing memorandum.</p><p>Federal authorities arrested Hasay and seized the converted machine gun, ammunition and other weapons with sawed-off barrels from the home of his parents in Hunlock Creek in August 2018 as part of an investigation prompted by anti-Semitic and racist comments and jokes he posted on social media.</p><p>Hasay, 22, underwent an in-patient psychiatric evaluation in September 2018 and, following his discharge from First Hospital in Kingston, asked to attend out-patient treatment. But at a hearing in October of last year, U.S. Magistrate Judge Joseph Saporito Jr. in Wilkes-Barre ordered Hasay detained out of concern for the posts containing Confederate and Nazi flags, white supremacy references, photos of him with a gun in his mouth and pointed at his crotch, which have been under seal with other evidence gathered in the investigation.</p><p>In January of this year Hasay pleaded guilty to the felony charge he converted a Glock model 19 hand gun into a weapon that fired automatically with a single trigger pull. He also agreed to forfeit the seized weapons he used for target practice.</p><p>Flora made reference to Hasay&#8217;s mental condition as an explanation for his &#8220;abnormal preoccupation in firearms mechanics&#8221; and a justification for departing from the sentencing guidelines.</p><p>&#8220;His preoccupation is not offered as an excuse for his actions, but rather, is presented in the context of understanding why he, having no prior criminal record, engaged in illegal activity,&#8221; Flora said in the memorandum.</p><p>Although Hasay converted the handgun into an automatic weapon and shortened the barrels of other guns, the modifications were &#8220;directed at how these firearms might work &#8230; as opposed to using them to facilitate a crime,&#8221; Flora said.</p><p>The defense attorney also noted that Hasay&#8217;s short enlistment in the military also played a role in his behavior.</p><p>Hasay had been medically discharged after three months at boot camp of the U.S. Navy training center in Great Lakes, Ill. in May 2018. He had written a suicide note on letterhead from the center and vowed to commit a hate crime, federal authorities said.</p><p>&#8220;This discharge was a major setback for him,&#8221; Flora said in the memorandum.</p><p>In addition, Flora said, the government acknowledged it found no evidence to support the hate crime comment and determined he was not a member of a white supremacist group. The social media posts were &#8220;hyperbole&#8221; and Hasay, at his sentencing, &#8220;will acknowledge that these statements and jokes were distasteful and vile,&#8221; Flora said.</p><p>&#8220;There is little or no need to protect the public from Hasay committing future crimes. This incident is so isolated and represents an anomaly in Hasay&#8217;s life,&#8221; the memorandum said.</p><p>A lengthy term of incarceration will not serve as a deterrent for Hasay, Flora argued. &#8220;Timely identification of the components of this disorder and psychiatric intervention will serves as the necessary deterrent,&#8221; he said.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_Hasay-AK-1.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">John &quot;Jake&quot; Hasay</div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/web1_Hasay-AK-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>John &quot;Jake&quot; Hasay</caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Mental condition explains ‘preoccupation’ with guns and grounds for leniency, says attorney for Hasay