DV Journal

Twenty-year-old Clayton Robinson of Glenside is the alleged mastermind behind a multi-county gun trafficking ring, where guns were bought by straw purchasers, stripped of their serial numbers, and then sold for cash or bartered for drugs, Delaware Valley officials said Thursday.

The gun ring is also said to have stolen some of the firearms they traded.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele and Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub were on hand with Abington Police Chief Patrick Molloy and numerous officers and detectives for a press conference announcing the arrests. The six guns that police and detectives had seized were on display. However, there are at least 34 guns involved in the scheme, with more likely, said Steele, who added the investigation is ongoing.

Robinson and his crew also sold guns with “switches” they had made to change the firing action from semiautomatic to fully automatic.

“It’s going to fire the entire number of bullets that are in that gun,” said Steele.

Abington Police Chief Patrick Malloy, Montgomery County DA Kevin Steele, and Bucks DA Matt Weintraub discuss gun ring arrests.

Robinson’s two brothers, Julian Robinson, 31, and Kenneth Robinson, 18, were also involved, said Steele.

“This was a true family business,” said Weintraub. “And the product was illegally purchased firearms.”

Clayton Robinson said in a message found by detectives, “I’m not trying to end up in a tri-county tooling ring. Feel me.”

“That’s exactly what these individuals have done,” said Steele. “Tool” is slang for gun.

Clayton Robinson was found in possession of an illegal gun and “this led us to all of these other straw purchases,” he said.

As well as officers and detectives in Montgomery and Bucks Counties, investigators worked with the ATF, FBI, and Attorney General’s Office he said.

“We looked through the electronic record of sales (EROS) and ATF and Pennsylvania state gun sales forms,” he said. At gun stores, cellphone downloads, social media posts, and surveillance, he said.

The straw purchase buyers were allegedly Joseph Lynch, 25 of Morrisville, who purchased 17 guns between November 17, 2020, and March 15, 2021; Maurice Baker IV, 23, of Levittown, who purchased 12 guns between May 12, 2021, and December 31, 2021, and Brett Portner, 22, of Jenkintown, who bought five guns between Jan. 11, 2021, and Feb. 3, 2022.

“Straw purchases of guns for people not allowed to purchase them is dangerous, and is dangerous to our communities,” said Steele. “That is why we are emphasizing these investigations and will continue to investigate.”

Photographs of Clayton Robinson holding one of the guns and also a video of him grinding the serial number off of it were displayed.

“This (video) was made because he’s letting his customers know he’s taking the serial numbers off these guns,” said Steele.

“Quite frankly, we appreciate the very strong evidence he has provided to us,” said Steele.  Also, there was a text message from Clayton Robinson saying, “Come drop me off a pistol, too. I really got to stay dangerous.”

Steele asked anyone who knows where the other guns are to come forward before SWAT officers raid their homes. The guns can be turned in anonymously through their lawyers.

Weintraub said several of the firearms were found through car stops by police in Bensalem, Yardley, and Middletown and praised the “great police work” involved.

“Thank God for criminals who like to show off,” said Weintraub.

“The vast majority of these guns were purchased seemingly legally in Bucks County,” he said. But 28 guns “are still out there in the hands of criminals, who intend to terrorize, maim, hurt and kill. This is unacceptable…Something has to be done about this.”

“Fighting illegal gun trafficking is our top priority in Bucks County,” said Weintraub. “We are all in on this.”

Clayton Robinson, a suspect, removing a serial number from a gun.

Several gun stores in Bucks County had sold the guns to the straw purchasers and are cooperating with authorities, he said.

“This is a scourge. Drugs and guns go hand and hand and we know that” he said. “The combination is not only dangerous. It’s deadly. And it’s proliferating.”

Weintraub said a lot of law enforcement agencies are working together.

“It’s all hands on deck to eradicate this scourge,” he said.

Asked if the guns were used in other crimes, Steele said some were, including in Idaho and Massachusetts.

The suspects made small amounts of money or traded the guns for drugs, said Steele.

“This is people making not a lot of money, hundreds of dollars, and now they’re facing five-year mandatory sentences for a small amount of money and a small amount of drugs. If anyone thinks it’s worth it, they’re sadly mistaken,” Steele said.

“People were placing orders (for guns),” Steele added.

“The five men were operating a corrupt organization,” said Steele. “When you talk about straw purchases, individuals who can legally buy guns were buying them and putting them in the hands of criminals.”

When someone does this more than once it is a 5-year mandatory sentence under the Brad Fox Law, named for a police officer who was killed with a firearm bought through a straw purchase, said Steele.

The five men face multiple charges, including conspiracy, unlawful purchase of firearms, and criminal use of communication facilities, said Steele.

“We’ve got this epidemic of gun violence,” said Malloy. “When you think of Abington, Montgomery County being five short miles away from one of the most violent neighborhoods in our country and for us in Abington our officers during car stops are witnessing more guns…often it starts by good proactive policing.”

Abington Police had a search warrant for Robinson’s house and used a drone to find a gun that he had hidden on his roof, said Steele.

“Just because we haven’t tied any of these guns to any homicides, there is no doubt if we were not out there doing this work, then one of these guns would be responsible for taking the life of someone,” said Malloy.

Steele said if one of the trafficked guns is found to have been used in a homicide or shooting the sentencing judges for the defendants will be informed of that fact.

The affidavit of probable cause said the ring members were involved in a “gun trafficking operation.”

“The purpose of this corrupt organization was to illegally obtain and distribute numerous firearms to others,” it said. The ring members “conspired to purchase firearms illegally, making materially false statements on the application/record of sale and then illegally transferring the firearms.”

While most of the members of the straw purchase gun ring are in custody, authorities are seeking Lynch, who is on the lam and may be in Kentucky.

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Comedian Bill Cosby gets the last laugh.

The U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal by Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele to reopen the criminal case against the 84-year-old former TV star. That upholds a decision last year by Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court overturning Cosby’s conviction on indecent assault charges that led to his release from prison. Scores of other women also claimed they were assaulted by the entertainer.

The state Supreme Court held in June 2021 that Cosby should never have been tried in the case because a previous prosecutor (Bruce L. Castor, Jr.) sanctioned a “non-prosecution agreement” with the actor. “In light of these circumstances, the subsequent decision by successor D.A.s to prosecute Cosby violated Cosby’s due process rights.”

The Elkins Park resident was tried twice for his 2004 aggravated indecent assault against then-Temple University employee Andrea Constand. According to testimony, Cosby drugged Constand at his home before the assault. A judge subsequently sentenced him to three to 10 years in prison. He spent just over two years behind bars.

Asked to comment on the Supreme Court declining to hear the appeal, Castor was succinct.

“How does Cosby recover the years of freedom taken from him by Kevin Steele?” he asked.

Steele defended his actions. “Petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court for review was the right thing to do. But obviously, there was only a small chance the high court would be able to hear the case. We appreciate the court’s consideration. My appreciation also goes to Andrea Constand. All crime victims deserve to be heard, treated with respect, and supported through their day in court. I wish her the best as she moves forward in her life,” Steele said.

Whether or not to prosecute Cosby was a campaign issue in the 2015 district attorney’s race that pitted Democrat Steele against Castor, a Republican, a former district attorney and a former county commissioner.

Cosby’s spokesman issued this response:

“On behalf of Mr. and Mrs. Cosby and the Cosby family, we would like to offer our sincere gratitude to the justices of the United States Supreme Court for following the rules of law and protecting the Constitutional Rights of all American citizens of these United States,” said Andrew V. Wyatt, a spokesman for Cosby. “Mr. Cosby’s Constitutional Rights were a ‘reprehensible bait and switch’ by Kevin Steele, Judge Steve T. O’Neill, and their cohorts. This is truly a victory for Mr. Cosby but it shows that cheating will never get you far in life and the corruption that lies within Montgomery County District’s Attorney Office has been brought to the center stage of the world.”

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Depending on what the U.S. Supreme Court decides, Bill Cosby’s taste of freedom may be brief.

On Monday, Montgomery County D.A. Kevin Steele announced he is asking it to review the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the famous comedian and actor’s conviction.

“Petitioning to ask the High Court to review was the right thing to do because of the precedent set in this case by the majority opinion of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that prosecutors’ statements in press releases now seemingly create immunity,” said Steele in a press release. “This decision as it stands will have far-reaching negative consequences beyond Montgomery County and Pennsylvania. The U.S. Supreme Court can right what we believe is a grievous wrong.”

Some 60 women have accused the octogenarian of sexually assaulting them over the years. In 2017, a Montgomery County jury found him guilty of charges related to his treatment of then-Temple University employee Andrea Constand. She claimed Cosby drugged and assaulted her in his Elkins Park mansion in 2004. A judge subsequently sentenced him to three to 10 years in prison. He spent just over two years behind bars.

The state Supreme Court held in June that Cosby should never have been tried in the case because a previous prosecutor (Bruce L. Castor Jr.) sanctioned a “non-prosecution agreement” with the actor. “In light of these circumstances, the subsequent decision by successor D. A.s to prosecute Cosby violated Cosby’s due process rights.”

Cosby was promptly released and was soon back at his home, flashing reporters the victory sign.

Asked to comment, Andrew Wyatt, a spokesman for Cosby said, “Unwilling to accept (his) epic loss in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, the Montgomery County District Attorney has now filed a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the United States Supreme Court. In short, the Montgomery County D.A. asks the United States Supreme Court to throw the Constitution out the window, as it did, to satisfy the #metoo mob.

“There is no merit to the DA’s request which centers on the unique facts of the Cosby case and has no impact on important federal questions of law,” said Wyatt. “The United States Supreme Court does not typically interfere with the rulings of a State’s high court unless it conflicts with the decisions of other state high courts or our federal court of appeals. This is a pathetic last-ditch effort that will not prevail. The Montgomery County’s DA’s fixation with Mr. Cosby is troubling, to say the least.”

But Steele contends the Cosby case opened the door for future plaintiffs to argue they may not be prosecuted based on a prosecutor’s press release, even if new evidence is found.

“This Court, not the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, should be the one to decide whether Cosby’s drastic expansion of (a previous case) is appropriate and whether its dramatic shift in law about prosecutorial statements should continue through our court systems,” said Steele in his pleading to the high court. “The issue is important because other courts have rejected the idea that press releases are bilateral agreements or issued as anything more than an administrative task. Under Cosby’s rationale, the accused in those cases now have transactional immunity, regardless of any potentially new evidence coming to light and regardless of whether the accused’s reliance on the statements was reasonable.”

Steele told the high court “Cosby is a dangerous precedent. A prosecution announcement not to file charges should not trigger due process protections against future criminal proceedings because circumstances could change, including new incriminating statements by the accused. The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that due process makes detrimental reliance on a decision not to prosecute constitutionally enforceable, regardless of reasonableness. Detrimental reliance, according to that court, transforms a mere decision not to prosecute, or even the absence of a decision to prosecute, into a promise of non-prosecution with a constitutional guarantee. A suspect need only rely to his detriment to ratify his immunity to future prosecution. That is quite an attractive proposition, not only to celebrities like Cosby, but to all manner of garden-variety litigants.”

Castor declined to comment. It is unclear whether the U.S. Supreme Court will agree to hear Montgomery County’s appeal.

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