NORRISTOWN — A Philadelphia man faces eight years of court supervision after he admitted to taking part in the illegal transfer of four firearms to the leader of a multi-county gun trafficking organization.
Emanuel Eduardo Torres, 33, of the 700 block of South 2nd Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 52 days already served to 23 months in jail after he pleaded guilty to charges of corrupt organizations, making false written statements on federal firearms forms, unsworn falsification to authorities and dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities in connection with incidents that occurred between January 2023 and April 2024.
Judge Wendy G. Rothstein also ordered Torres to complete six years of probation, consecutive to parole, meaning Torres will be under court supervision for eight years.
Rothstein explained she based the sentence in part on a mitigation report that was provided on behalf of Torres by defense lawyer Andrew Joseph Levin. The specific nature of that mitigation was not revealed in open court.
“We provided substantial mitigation to her honor which demonstrated not only Mr. Torres’ willingness to disavow his actions in this case but to completely change his life in a positive direction,” Levin explained. “He has been in recovery for over a year, successfully, and has obtained his CDL license and I think the judge took his early acceptance of responsibility and efforts to change his life into consideration.”
The judge warned Torres that if he violates his probation during the eight years of supervision, he potentially faces state prison time.
Emanuel Torres leaves a Montgomery County courtroom in May 2025 to await sentencing after he admitted to a role in a gun trafficking network. (Photo by Carl Hessler Jr. – MediaNews Group)
Torres, who had no prior criminal record, made no comments during the sentencing hearing.
Specifically, Torres admitted that he facilitated the transfer of four firearms to Scott Michael Grondin, who led a gun-trafficking network that had tentacles in Montgomery, Delaware, Chester and Philadelphia counties.
Grondin, 43, of the 2300 block of North 9th Street, Philadelphia, previously pleaded guilty to corrupt organization and related charges and was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison.
Grondin’s girlfriend, Bella Skylar Kenna, 22, was also sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison for assisting Grondin with his gun trafficking organization.
Testimony revealed the corrupt organization run by Grondin and Kenna was responsible for moving or attempting to move 17 firearms into the stream of illegal criminal activity and only seven of the firearms have been recovered. The organization also distributed controlled substances, including methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine and marijuana.
Convicted gun trafficker Scott Grondin was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison. (Photo by Carl Hessler Jr. – MediaNews Group)
With the charges, prosecutors alleged Kenna purchased or solicited others, who did not have prior criminal records, to buy 17 guns for the organization. Grondin and Kenna used straw purchase schemes to meet their goals.
A straw purchase occurs when someone who is legally allowed to purchase a firearm purchases one and then illegally transfers or sells it to someone who is not permitted to purchase that firearm.
As a result of a previous burglary conviction, Grondin could not legally purchase or possess firearms. Grondin then offered the firearms to his gun and drug trafficking customers, detectives alleged.
“What this case shows is that individuals who are interested in conducting straw purchasing will go to great lengths to achieve those goals. Scott Grondin took down with him six other individuals who had minimal to no criminal record and turned them all into felons for his personal gain,” said Assistant District Attorney Robert Joseph Waeltz Jr., who handled the case.
“It became clear that Scott Grondin was using individuals who were in active drug addiction, who had no prior criminal history and could lawfully purchase a firearm and he kept them under his control with the lure and promise of drugs and other controlled substances. He preyed on a very vulnerable population to achieve his criminal goals,” added Waeltz, who handled the case with co-prosecutor Blair Rohlfing.
With the charges, prosecutors alleged Torres, who was a lawful firearms owner, went to a local firearms dealer with Anthony Michael Figueroa-Marko, 36, of Philadelphia, and completed paperwork to transfer four of his firearms to Figueroa-Marko. However, prosecutors alleged, Torres knew that the guns were going to be passed on to Grondin, who was prohibited from possessing guns because he had a prior criminal record.
Figueroa-Marko previously pleaded guilty to purchasing eight firearms for Grondin and was sentenced to 11½ to 23 months in jail. Under a limited agreement reached with prosecutors, Figueroa-Marko gave up his right to seek parole after serving his minimum sentence and will serve the entire 23-month period behind bars.
Testimony revealed that Figueroa-Marko, who struggled with a drug addiction, received drugs as payment for helping Grondin obtain guns.
Anthony Figueroa-Marko is escorted to his sentencing hearing in Montgomery County Court. (Photo by Carl Hessler Jr. – MediaNews Group)
Grondin, Kenna, Torres and Figueroa-Marko were among seven people arrested last year and accused of participating in the corrupt organization.
Asad Sayed, 28, of Philadelphia, previously pleaded guilty to charges of corrupt organizations and related offenses and was sentenced to 7½ to 15 years in prison. Prosecutors said Sayed purchased four guns for the organization at gun shops in West Chester and Philadelphia. Sayed, who struggled with a substance use disorder, also received drugs as payment for helping Grondin obtain guns.
Christopher Michael McNelly, 28, of the 700 block of Kohn Street, Norristown, previously pleaded guilty to corrupt organizations and related charges and was sentenced to 11½ to 23 months in the county jail, to be followed by 23 months of probation, for purchasing two guns for Grondin’s organization at stores in the Norristown area.
Kenna was accused of personally purchasing three firearms over 35 days, including at a gun show in Oaks.
“The purpose of this corrupt organization was to illegally obtain and distribute numerous firearms to others to be used for illegal activity. Once this gun trafficking organization received these firearms, they obliterated the serial numbers. We know the objective of such behavior is to circumvent law enforcement investigations into violent crimes, in turn concealing the true end recipient of the firearm,” county Detective Richard Hoffner and state police Trooper Michael Primerano wrote in a criminal complaint.
The investigation determined the center of the group’s operations was the Philadelphia home where Grondin and Kenna resided. Detectives alleged a large number of “short-term visitors consistent with drug trafficking and illegal activity,” and surveillance “confirmed this residence is the center-point of this operation.”
The investigation began in December 2023 at a gun show at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Upper Providence Township, where members of the group purchased multiple firearms and exhibited suspicious behavior, according to authorities.
Members of the county’s Violent Crime Unit reviewed the gun purchasing behavior of several conspirators that uncovered “numerous indicators of straw purchases.” The investigation involved physical surveillance and firearms purchase paperwork.
“In this investigation, we recovered photographs of firearms they illegally purchased, including some showing firearms with their serial numbers obliterated,” detectives alleged in court papers. “Their captured communications detailed their agreed-upon plans to illegally acquire firearms to sell on the street for profit after obliterating the serial numbers.”
Detectives alleged members of the straw purchasing organization purchased or transferred the 17 firearms between Jan. 19, 2023, and Feb. 26, 2024.
The weapons purchased by the co-conspirators included 9mm semiautomatic handguns, .357-caliber, .22-caliber and .40-caliber revolvers and 12-gauge shotguns, according to court papers.
The investigation included physical surveillance of some of the defendants at the gun shows in Oaks.
As the investigation progressed, authorities learned some members of the organization were also participating in separate drug trafficking activities in Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. During the investigation, detectives conducted several so-called “controlled buys” of significant quantities of methamphetamine from Grondin and Kenna, authorities alleged.
“We know that drugs and guns go together and this case was investigated as guns and drugs going together,” said Rohlfing, praising the work of detectives who dismantled the ring. “There was a huge amount of work that went into investigating this case. It takes an enormous amount of work.”
Testimony revealed authorities confiscated about 900 grams of methamphetamine during the investigation.
“This organization not only sold controlled substances on a consistent frequent basis but also supplied illegal firearms to others. Their ongoing drug trafficking in connection with the various indicators further supports our assertion that these firearms were purchased illegally with the intention of being involved in criminal activity,” Hoffner and Primerano alleged.
The county’s Violent Crime Unit and state police were assisted during the investigation by members of the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Gun Violence Task Force and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“This case was phenomenally investigated and because of the hard work of our law enforcement partners the community is safer,” Waeltz said.