NORRISTOWN — Montgomery County authorities dismantled a gun-trafficking organization involving more than a dozen individuals who are accused of illegally obtaining and reselling 31 firearms during straw purchase schemes in
Multi-county gun trafficking organization dismantled in Pennsylvania
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Authorities have charged more than a dozen people with buying and selling more than 30 illegal guns.
PHILADELPHIA - A multiple county gun trafficking organization has been dismantled in Pennsylvania, authorities say.
Fourteen defendants were arrested for a gun trafficking organization that operated in Montgomery, Bucks, Berks, Lancaster and Philadelphia counties. They were arrested on charges related to straw purchases of firearms and illegally transferring firearms.
The organization illegally obtained and resold 31 firearms throughout those counties as well as dealt with the sale of ghost guns.
The gun trafficking organization was fueled by firearm purchases by Quinn Whisted, 22, of Plymouth Meeting, who purchased 17 firearms; Maliqa Jack, 25, of Pottstown, who purchased seven firearms; Makayla Prince, 22, of Reading, who purchased four firearms; and Deborah Chappell, 61, of Pottstown, who
County authorities identified the dead man as Trey Bartholomew, 27, of Valley Court in Pennsburg.
District Attorney Kevin R. Steele said his office and county detectives will conduct the investigation, which is standard procedure in officer-involved shootings in the county. Typically, such investigations take several days or weeks.
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The incident began about 7:41 p.m. when a 911 operator dispatched Upper Perk police to investigate a report about a family member armed with a sword threatening to harm others, according to Steele. Upper Perk officers responded and encountered Bartholomew in Long Alley, wielding a âsamurai-type sword,â authorities said.
#MontcoPa DA Kevin R. Steele says an investigation into an officer-involved shooting that occurred in the vicinity of 8th Street and Long Alley in #Pennsburg on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021, will be conducted by county detectives.I ll have that update shortly Carl Hessler Jr. (@MontcoCourtNews) February 10, 2021
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Multiple campaign signs and posters, including some supporting President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, adorn the front window of the Montgomery County Democratic Committee’s Norristown office. (NBC10)
The FBI confirmed Friday that it has joined local authorities in investigating three bullets fired into the Montgomery County Democratic Committee office in Norristown hours before the presidential inauguration on Wednesday.
No one was inside the office at the time. The incident occurred roughly a week after the office received a threatening email regarding “a stolen election.”
“It is not known if the threatening email is related to this incident,” Norristown Police Chief Mark Talbot in a statement Thursday.