The law will be named after Plymouth Township officer Brad Fox, who was killed Sept. 13. Vote in a NEWS POLL.
Pallbearers carry the casket of slain Plymouth Township police officer Bradley Fox on Sept. 19 following a funeral Mass at Epiphany of Our Lord Church in Plymouth Meeting, Pa.
When someone buys a gun for a felon, that person may not be the one pulling the trigger in a crime.
But state Sen. Bob Mensch, R-Bucks/Lehigh/Montgomery/Northampton, thinks their punishment must be severe. New legislation signed Oct. 25 by Gov. Tom Corbett puts stiffer penalties on such criminals — known as straw gun purchasers.
Mensch, who was part of the effort to push the legislation through the state Senate, said the new law is being named after the late Plymouth Township officer Brad Fox, who lost his life in a firefight with a gun purchased for a felon. The law assigns a mandatory minimum penalty of five years to anyone convicted of multiple purchases of firearms for felons.
“It was maybe the most emotional service I’ve ever been to. It impressed on me the impact ... that such straw purchases can have,” Mensch said. “I felt the guy who bought the guns had been just as guilty (as the killer).”
Fox, 34, was killed Sept. 13 during a foot pursuit of 44-year-old Andrew Charles Thomas, of Lower Merion Township, along the Schuylkill River Trail in Plymouth Township. The chase was part of a hit-and-run investigation. Police think Thomas fired at Fox and his K-9 partner, Nick, from an elevated vantage point concealed by tall weeds. After he killed Fox, a seven-year veteran of the department, Thomas committed suicide.
Police learned that as a convicted felon, Thomas had gotten his weapon through a straw purchase by Michael J. Henry, of Philadelphia. Henry was arrested Oct. 9 on allegations that he’s made nine straw purchases for Thomas, charging $500 for each weapon. Among the guns Henry is alleged to have bought for the 44-year-old was the same firearm that fatally wounded Fox.
“He will get years now for this and he should,” Mensch said of Henry.
Prior to House Bill 898, a loophole prevented most straw gun purchasers from facing serious penalties. The law required a defendant to have been previously convicted of the offense before being eligible for a mandatory minimum sentence. But to be a straw gun purchaser requires a clean record and so second-time offenders were a practical impossibility.
Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin said he sees straw gun purchases fairly frequently within his jurisdiction. The Brad Fox Law will be “another arrow in our quiver” when it comes to battling such crimes, he said.
“The legislation was needed. I applaud it,” Martin said. “I’m happy the governor signed it. I think the need for it can be easily demonstrated.”
Straw gun purchases aren’t as big a problem in Northampton County, according to Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli. But that doesn’t mean the law won’t be a big help for law enforcement and prosecutors, he said.
"I think those of us in law enforcement have believed that these straw purchase laws needed to be upgraded," Morganelli said. "They've needed tougher enforcement on this for some time. This can only help us."
Attempts to reach the National Rifle Association for comment on the new legislation were unsuccessful.
The bill, which was languishing in the state Senate until the Legislature reconvened in September, had passed overwhelmingly in the House with a vote of 186-10 in April 2011. It was co-sponsored by state Rep. Marcy Toepel, R-Montgomery.
On Oct. 17, the bill passed unanimously through the state Senate. Mensch said the bipartisan showing was inspiring.
“We had a great deal of bipartisan support irrespective where we fall on the political spectrum,” Mensch said. “We have a meaningful bill here.”