Royersford pair admit selling gun to killer
Two Royersford men have admitted to their roles in the illegal sale of a 9 mm handgun used in two murders.
NORRISTOWN >> Two Royersford men have admitted to their roles in the illegal sale of a 9 mm handgun to an Ambler man a day before that man fatally shot his mother and her boyfriend as they lay in bed.
Darryl Alston, 23, of the 100 block of Second Avenue, pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court to a felony charge of sale and transfer of firearms in connection with the July 30, 2016, encounter during which he sold a 9 mm handgun and a “clip” with some ammunition in it to Joshua Trunk for $800 during a clandestine meeting at Marshall and Violet streets in Norristown.
Charles D. Perry, 22, also of the 100 block of Second Avenue, pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to engage in the illegal sale of a firearm for his role in setting up the deal and meeting between Trunk and Alston.
Trunk, 20, was convicted by a jury last week of two counts each of first- and third-degree murder and possession of an instrument of crime and was immediately sentenced to life imprisonment in connection with the 10 p.m. July 31, 2016, shooting deaths of his mother, 54-year-old Janice Trunk, and her boyfriend, 44-year-old Kevin Smith, in their residence at the Forest Garden Apartments in Ambler.
While a murder weapon was never recovered, detectives collected six 9 mm fired cartridge casings at the murder scene. At trial, First Assistant District Attorney Edward McCann Jr. and co-prosecutor Kelly Lloyd implied the gun that Trunk purchased with the
help of Alston and Perry the day before might have been the one Trunk used to the commit the murders.
At the very least, with the testimony of cooperating witnesses Alston and Perry, prosecutors were able to place a 9 mm gun in Trunk’s hands just hours before the double murder.
Judge Gary S. Silow deferred sentencing Alston and Perry until later this year so that court officials can complete background investigations of the men. Each of the men faces a possible maximum sentence of 3½ to seven years in prison on the charges.
However, the men testified at Trunk’s trial that they hope they receive more favorable treatment from the judge at sentencing time in exchange for their cooperation at Trunk’s trial.
Perry testified that Trunk contacted him on July 30 and offered to pay $800 if Perry could find him a gun. Perry testified he told Trunk he personally didn’t have any firearms for sale but that
“If I knew why, we wouldn’t be in this position today.” — Charles D. Perry testified at murder trial
he’d try to find another source to provide a gun for Trunk.
Perry told jurors he subsequently arranged for Trunk to purchase a firearm from Alston in Norristown. Perry testified the exchange did occur and that he later received $300 from Alston for his role in setting up the deal.
Perry testified he didn’t ask Trunk, who he considered “a cousin,” why he needed a gun.
“If I knew why, we wouldn’t be in this position today,” Perry mumbled during Trunk’s trial.
When he testified, Alston confirmed the firearm sale took place after he got into Trunk’s vehicle at the Norristown location. Alston described the weapon as a semiautomatic 9 mm handgun with “LC9” embossed on its side. Detectives said Ruger manufactures a model LC9 handgun which is a 9 mm semiautomatic
firearm.
Trunk “cocked the weapon to make sure it worked,” and then gave Alston $800 cash, according to the criminal complaint filed by county Detective William Mitchell Jr.
The sale to Trunk was illegal because Trunk had a previous drug-related conviction that prohibited him from possessing a firearm.
An analysis of the contents of Trunk’s cellphone led detectives to Perry and then Alston, according to trial testimony. Prosecutors used text messages exchanged between the parties to portray Trunk as frantically trying to obtain a gun just days before the double murder.
Prosecutors said Trunk killed his mother and Smith while they slept in the apartment he shared with them. Prosecutors implied Trunk’s motive was that he was angry at his mother for placing him in a drug rehabilitation facility from which he was released on July 25 after a one-week stay.
Prosecutors argued Trunk had a “specific intent to kill,” which is a requirement for a first-degree murder conviction.