NORRISTOWN — A Philadelphia man will spend more than a decade in prison for a straw purchase scheme during which he illegally purchased and distributed three dozen guns to ineligible persons in Montgomery County and surrounding areas.
Thomas J. Kearney, 35, of the 7100 block of Forrest Avenue, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 11 to 22 years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to multiple counts of making false statements on federal gun purchase forms and unlawful transfer of firearms in connection with incidents that occurred between 2016 and 2022.
As she imposed the sentence, Judge Risa Vetri Ferman said Kearney put “implements of destruction” in the hands of others who were not permitted to have guns, which placed the community in danger…