Worcester Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Gun Charges After Death of Hunter

David Manilla, 51, of Worcester, pleaded guilty Monday to possession of firearms by a convincted felon in connection to the 2010 death of a Quakertown hunter, according to the U.S. District Attorney, Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Manilla was previously sentenced to 10-to-25 years in prison after pleading guilty to involuntarily manslaughter after shooting Barry Groh while hunting in Bucks County.

Manilla, a Montgomery County lawyer who was convicted of aggravated assault in 1985 and was prohibited from possessing weapons, was found to be in possession of 19 firearms and ammunition when police investigated Groh's death.

According to Manilla’s plea memo, Manilla had 86 guns removed from his home on Valley Forge Road in Worcester and transported to a home on Hildebidle Road in Skippack Township.

The woman who helped him to move the guns then called the police and admitted that, while some of them were hers, she did not recognize 19 of them, according to the document.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 27 in front of U.S. District Court Judge Jan E. DuBois. Manilla faces a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and three years of supervised release.

The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Joseph LaBar.