MIDDLETOWN TOWNSHIP, PA – A Middletown resident, John Palaio Jr., 51, was sentenced on Friday, to a state prison term of 11 to 22 years. He faced multiple charges, including shooting at a police drone, and was found guilty on 19 charges in total, including seven felonies.
The Middletown Township Police Department had been trying to serve an arrest warrant to Palaio at his Pleasant Avenue residence on drug and weapons charges since July 6, 2022. On spotting a police drone sent to verify his presence, Palaio shot at it and subsequently fled on a motorcycle, leading to a chase. Despite police setting up a perimeter, Palaio escaped, only to be arrested days later by the U.S. Marshals Service.
Upon investigation, police discovered several pellet guns, brass knuckles, methamphetamine paraphernalia, and a revolver in Palaio’s garage. An earlier search in June 2022 revealed 200 grams of methamphetamine, two firearms, and drug paraphernalia on the same premises.