Former Norristown man facing prison on gun charge

NORRISTOWN » A former Norristown man is headed to prison for illegally possessing a gun, a crime uncovered when borough police responded to a domestic disturbance.

Joshua Waiters, 34, formerly of the 400 block of East Moore Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 1½ to 3 years in a state correctional facility after he pleaded guilty to charges of person not to possess a firearm and terroristic threats in connection with a July 2020 incident at his former residence.

Judge Thomas C. Branca, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, ordered Waiters to surrender to state prison officials on May 23 to begin serving the sentence. Waiters, who listed a new address along Lombardy Circle in Lafayette Hill, will receive credit for 18 days he previously spent in jail after his arrest and while awaiting court action on the charges.

An investigation began on July 11, 2020, when Norristown police responded to the East Moore Street residence for a report of a domestic dispute. While responding, police received another report of shots fired at the same address, according to court papers.

When police arrived at the residence they met with a woman who reported that she and Waiters, who she identified as her boyfriend, had been involved in an argument and that she was scared and informed police that Waiters had a gun, according to the arrest affidavit filed by Norristown Police Officer Daniel Deorzio. The woman was not injured during the incident.

But the victim, according to court documents, told police that Waiters had fired the gun in a back yard after they had argued.

During the investigation, police recovered a Ruger handgun that was loaded with five unspent shells.

When police conducted a background check on the weapon they found it had been reported stolen in Philadelphia in August 2019, according to court documents. Additionally, police alleged a background check on Waiters determined he had a previous felony drug conviction stemming from a 2015 incident in West Norriton that prohibited him from possessing a firearm.

A charge of receiving stolen property was dismissed against Waiters as part of the plea agreement.

The judge ordered Waiters to have no offensive contact with the victim of the domestic dispute. The gun that was seized by police was forfeited to the district attorney’s office.