East Norriton man draws prison on gun charge
NORRISTOWN » An East Norriton man is on his way to state prison on charges he illegally possessed a firearm in Norristown.
Tehron K. Green, 40, of the unit block of East Germantown Pike, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 3 to 10 years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of person not to possess a firearm in connection with an August 2019 incident in the borough.
Judge Thomas C. Branca, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, said Green will receive credit for the year that he spent in jail while awaiting trial on the charges.
The investigation began on Aug. 16, 2019, when Norristown police conducted a traffic stop of a Dodge Durango operated by Green in the 100 block of East Elm Street, according to court papers. As police approached the vehicle, which had an expired registration, they detected the odor of marijuana emanating from the vehicle, according to a criminal complaint.
In addition to the vehicle registration being expired, Green was unable to provide insurance information, according to police.
During the vehicle stop, police observed “underneath of the front passenger seat a silver and black semiautomatic handgun,” according to the arrest affidavit filed by Norristown Police Officer Joshua Samuels.
“I recovered the firearm from underneath of the passenger seat, ejected the magazine and locked the slide to the rear, ejecting a chambered bullet,” Samuels alleged.
The investigation determined the firearm was reported stolen in Philadelphia in January 2012.
During a search of the vehicle, police also recovered a green leafy botanical substance, suspected marijuana, on the front passenger side floor, according to the arrest affidavit.
After Green was taken into custody, police conducted a search of Green’s person and found him possessing a partially burnt marijuana cigarette in his front pants pocket, court papers alleged.
A check of Pennsylvania State Police records revealed Green’s criminal history included a conviction for aggravated assault, making him a person ineligible to possess a firearm, according to the criminal complaint. A records check also revealed Green did not have a permit to carry a concealed firearm.
Other charges of receiving stolen property, firearms not to be carried without a license, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and summary traffic violations were dismissed against Green as part of the plea agreement.
In a separate, unrelated matter, Green also pleaded guilty to a charge of recklessly endangering another person in connection with a May 17, 2019, road rage incident at Egypt and South Trooper roads in West Norriton. Township police alleged Green threatened another male driver with a handgun during the traffic altercation.
Under a plea agreement, Green was sentenced to time served to 23 months in jail on that reckless endangerment charge and the sentence will run concurrently with the state prison term Green received for the August 2019 incident in Norristown, according to court papers.