A judge sentenced a Lancaster Township man to three and a half to 10 years in state prison after he pleaded guilty earlier this year of illegally carrying a loaded weapon in two separate instances months apart.

Judge Dennis Reinaker handed down the sentence to Robert Lee Dixon III, of the 600 block of Wyncroft Lane, on June 23. Dixon had pleaded guilty in March to charges of stolen property, two counts of carrying a firearm without a license, possession of a controlled substance, two misdemeanor charges and two summary offenses.

Dixon, 27, was first found carrying a loaded handgun in the 500 block of Woodward Street in Lancaster city in May 2025. 

Officers discovered the weapon, which was equipped with an automatic switch and an extended magazine, concealed in Dixon’s waistband while responding to a noise complaint during the early morning hours. Officers also determined that Dixon was drunk at the time 

In August 2025 Dixon was again found carrying a loaded handgun, this time during a traffic stop in the 400 block of North Street in Lancaster city. Dixon, who was free on bail at the time for the May offense, was also found carrying multiple bags of cocaine.

Police determined that the weapon Dixon was carrying during the August incident had been stolen from a Manor Township gun shop in July 2024.

Dixon did not have a valid permit to carry a concealed firearm at the time of either offense.

Assistant District Attorney Daniel Lingousky prosecuted the case.

Lancaster City Bureau of Police Officer William Wagner and Det. Jacob Bingham filed the charges.