D.A.: Accused gun trafficker disparaged slain Plymouth officer Bradley Fox

NORRISTOWN >> A Plymouth Township man accused of illegally purchasing guns for a multi-county gun trafficking network used a selfie video to disparage a slain township police officer, according to court documents and prosecutors.

“In this current investigation, a search of Quinn Whisted’s mobile phone yielded a disparaging comment and image in regards to Plymouth Township Police Officer Bradley Fox,” detectives wrote in a criminal complaint, alleging Whisted sent the image to Alexander Smith, an alleged conspirator in a gun trafficking organization.

On Wednesday, Whisted, 22, of the 3000 block of Runnymede Drive, was charged with illegally purchasing 17 firearms on behalf of a gun trafficking network led by several people including Smith, 20, of the 3000 block of Jolly Road, Plymouth Meeting. Both men face charges including corrupt organizations and conspiracy in connection with the organization that allegedly relied heavily on so-called “straw purchase” schemes.

A “straw purchase” occurs when someone who is legally allowed to purchase a firearm purchases one and then gives it illegally to someone who is not permitted to purchase that firearm.

“Part of this investigation turned up a selfie video that Mr. Whisted did, that he took of himself at Officer Fox’s memorial in Plymouth Township,” Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin R. Steele alleged at a Wednesday news briefing where he announced gun trafficking related charges against Whisted, Smith and 12 others.

“He spits on Brad’s memorial and he honors the man that killed Brad Fox. This video was sent to his co-defendant Alexander Smith who is also from Plymouth Township,” Steele, his voice rising with anger, as he described Whisted’s alleged expletive-filled video.

“The information gleaned from Whisted’s phone clearly illustrates his knowledge of the danger and violence associated with the illegal purchasing and distribution of firearms. It is our opinion, this also showed a disregard for the potential violence associated with the illegal purchase and transfer of firearms,” county Detective Jeffrey Koch, Montgomery Township Detective Todd Walter and state police Trooper Brian Kedra wrote in the criminal complaint.

Fox, of New Hanover, a five-year veteran of the Plymouth police force, was fatally shot on Sept. 13, 2012, a day before his 35th birthday, by a Lower Merion man armed with an illegally obtained Beretta 9mm semiautomatic handgun as Fox pursued the man on foot near the Schuylkill River Trail after the man fled from a hit-andrun crash on Conshohocken Road. Fox died from a gunshot wound to the head and his killer then turned the gun on himself and died by sui