Evidence suppressed in federal gun case against suspect in Unity woman's disappearance

May 18—A 2018 search at a Potter County cabin was illegal, a federal judge ruled this month, suppressing evidence against Thomas George Stanko in a weapons case.

U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann ruled that federal authorities didn't have a valid reason to believe that a gun would be found at Stanko's cabin there. Stanko asked during jailhouse phone calls for his mother and another person to check on the cabin and pay the taxes, but didn't mention anything about items inside, Brann ruled.

"... Nothing in the affidavit can be reasonably construed as implying the existence of firearms in Stanko's Potter County cabin," Brann wrote.

Stanko, 50, of Unity, has been linked to the 2018 disappearance of Cassandra Gross and he is facing a federal indictment in connection with the .22-caliber rifle found at the cabin. Authorities allege the gun had an obliterated serial number and was not registered to Stanko, who has previous felony convictions that prohibit him from possessing a firearm.

In a separate indictment, Stanko's defense attorney is seeking to suppress evidence based on the reliability of a witness and police interpretation of jailhouse phone calls that led state troopers to find 17 guns on his Unity property and in a storage unit in August 2018. Prosecutors claim he used coded language during those calls that indicated the presence of firearms in the two locations. A suppression hearing was held in that case in March. A ruling has not been made.

The same type of language was not used in reference to the cabin, Brann wrote in the order.

"At no point, however, did Stanko refer to any specific item or items within the cabin, either in plain or coded language," he said.

Gross of Unity was last seen April 7, 2018. In the days after her disappearance, state police were seen searching two Unity properties Stanko owns. In May, troopers found a few items during a search at a home where Stanko's mother lives on White Fence Lane next to Unity Cemetery. Those items were sent for testing. Police have not publicly detailed those items.

Stanko has been in jail since April 2018 on charges unrelated to Gross' disappearance.

Gross was reported missing April 9, 2018, the same day her blind and diabetic dog Baxter was found wandering alone in the Beatty Crossroads area. The next day, state police found her Mitsubishi Outlander burned almost beyond recognition in a wooded area near Twin Lakes Park.

Gross would have turned 55 Monday. She was declared legally dead in January 2019 by a Westmoreland County judge. State police have continued to look for evidence of Gross' whereabouts and they classify the case as a homicide. No arrests have been made.

Renatta Signorini is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Renatta at 724-837-5374, rsignorini@triblive.com or via Twitter .