Norristown man jailed for threatening teen

Brandon Zambella, 20, pleaded guilty to charges of making terroristic threats to ex-girlfriend

“During this dispute, Zambella pulled a small revolver-style handgun out of his pocket, waving and pointing it at (the three victims) who were all on the front porch together.” _

Norristown Police Officer Matthew O’Connell alleged.

A 20-year-old Norristown man who threatened several others while brandishing a gun during a dispute with his ex-girlfriend, a borough teenager, must report to jail later this month.

Brandon Zambella, of the 100 block of Barley Sheaf Drive, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 6-to23-months in the county jail after he pleaded guilty to charges of terroristic threats and possessing an instrument of crime in connection with the 3:30 p.m. May 18, 2018, incident in the 1200 block of West Main Street in the borough.

Zambella must report to the jail in Lower Providence on Feb. 20 to begin serving the sentence. Zambella is eligible for the jail’s work release program

during his incarceration.

Judge William R. Carpenter, who accepted a plea agreement in the case, also ordered Zambella to complete two years’ probation following parole, meaning Zambella will be under court supervision for about four years.

Zambella must forfeit the weapon, a .22-caliber short revolver, to county detectives.

The judge ordered Zambella to have no contact with the victim and to stay away from the victim’s residence.

An investigation began when Norristown police were dispatched to a residence in the 1200 block of West Main Street for a report of an armed subject who pointed a gun at others and then fled the area on foot.

A 17-year-old girl told police that Zambella, her exboyfriend, called her on the phone and threatened her while accusing her of talking to another boy, according to the criminal complaint filed by Norristown Police Officer Matthew O’Connell. Zambella allegedly told the girl, “I swear to God it’s a rap. I’m killing everybody and myself,” according to the arrest affidavit.

The girl told police she knew Zambella to have access to a handgun because a few days earlier he had texted a photo to her that depicted him pointing a small revolver-style handgun at the camera.

While the girl was on her porch with a teenage friend, Zambella approached them and became involved in an argument with the two teens and the victim’s grandmother.

“During this dispute, Zambella pulled a small revolver-style handgun out of his pocket, waving and pointing it at (the three victims) who were all on the front porch together,” O’Connell alleged.

The teens claimed Zambella pointed the gun at them several times while uttering, “I’ll shoot up this whole crib, I don’t care about none of yall (sic),” according to the arrest affidavit. The victims retreated inside the residence and Zambella fled on foot when they announced they were calling police.

Police immediately canvassed the area and observed Zambella running in the area of Sterigere and James streets, near two schools that were dismissing for the day. With the assistance of a Montgomery County sheriff’s deputy and his K9, a track was performed and Zambella was found hiding in a yard in the 1000 block of James Street and taken into custody, court papers indicate.

“Zambella did not have the revolver-style handgun on him when he was taken into custody and would not advise police where it was. Police then began searching the area out of fear that the gun could be found by a student/child and seriously injure or kill someone,” O’Connell alleged.

About two hours later, a landscaper advised police he found a gun under a bush while cutting grass at a residence in the 1000 block of West James Street, an area along the route taken by Zambella while he was fleeing, police alleged.

“The weapon was in very poor condition and the serial number was not decipherable,” said O’Connell.

The victims subsequently identified the gun as the weapon Zambella pointed at them and the gun appeared to be the same weapon that Zambella held in the photograph that he had texted to his ex-girlfriend.

Zambella was 19 years old at the time of the incident and was prohibited from carrying a firearm, police said.