Pottstown man sentenced on gun charge in Reading
Aug. 29—A shooting in a downtown Reading bar in which one person was struck has resulted in a state prison term for a Pottstown man.
The shooting occurred May 1, 2021, at the Penn Street Tavern in the 200 block of Penn Street and led to the arrest of Bruce Criddell, 40, of Pottstown.
Criddell was initially charged with shooting another man, but prosecutors said they dropped charges of aggravated assault and reckless endangerment against Criddell after the victim refused to cooperate with the investigation.
Because Criddell has prior convictions for robbery and aggravated assault, though, he was prohibited from carrying a gun, and a charge of illegally carrying a firearm went to court.
A Berks County jury in July found him guilty of that charge, and on Thursday President Judge M. Theresa Johnson sentenced Criddell to 8 1/2 to 20 years in state prison.
Police gave this account of the shooting:
Reading police were called to the tavern for a shooting that had just occurred about 10:30 p.m.
They found a man who had been shot in his upper left leg, and he was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
A witness told police that not long after Criddell entered the bar, he and another man were in an altercation and had yelled at each other.
Criddell pulled out a handgun and shot three times, striking the victim once. There were at least 20 people in the bar at the time, but no one else was hit.
Security video from the bar confirmed the account of the witness, police said.
Without the victim's cooperation, though, several charges against Criddell had to be dropped, prosecutors said.
