Norman Copper of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who’s had previous brushes with the law, faces a stark change in circumstance as United States District Judge Mark A. Kearney sentenced him to 45 years in prison following convictions for serious drug and firearm offenses, according to an announcement made by United States Attorney David Metcalf. Copper, 34, was convicted of possession intending to distribute methamphetamine and various firearms charges including possession of firearms by a felon and in furtherance of drug trafficking, as reported by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The charges against Copper stemmed from a June 2024 superseding indictment, but his illegal activities came to light much earlier; in December 2023, the Upper Merion Township Police Department upon receiving information from the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Parole Field Services – field services had noticed something awry, Copper, at that time on state parole for attempted murder, was caught via recorded prison calls and video visits potentially engaging in drug sales and illegal firearms possession. His state parole conditions included a GPS monitor which revealed visits to unapproved locations, specifically an apartment in King of Prussia, Pa., identified as belonging to Copper’s then-girlfriend, law enforcement authorities pieced together these nightly movements and established a connection between Copper and a nearby storage unit.
In a concerted effort to clamp down on this unlawful activity, law enforcement executed search warrants in early 2024 on the aforementioned apartment and storage unit – their hunt yielded more than a pound and a half of methamphetamine, a collection of semiautomatic firearms, including one with a silencer, and an AK-style semiautomatic rifle. U.S. Attorney Metcalf referenced Copper’s habitual disregard for the law in a statement declaring, “Again and again, Norman Copper has flouted the law and chosen to engage in criminal activity that endangered the community,” as mentioned on the U.S. Attorney’s Office website…