Gun charges land Norristown man in prison

NORRISTOWN — A Norristown man was sent to prison on charges he illegally possessed guns in the borough.

Huelin T. Kay, 53, of the 500 block of Buttonwood Street, was sentenced in Montgomery County Court to 5 to 10 years in a state correctional institution after he pleaded guilty to a felony charge of person not to possess firearms in connection with a December 2020 incident in the borough.

The sentence was imposed by Judge Steven T. O’Neill who also ordered that Kay be evaluated for substance abuse disorder.

Kay immediately sought a reconsideration of the sentence but the judge denied the request.

An investigation began on Dec. 10, 2020, when county detectives received information from law enforcement sources that Kay illegally possessed firearms in his home, according to court documents.

When detectives entered the Buttonwood Street residence they seized a Taurus 9mm semiautomatic handgun and a semiautomatic AR-15 style rifle that contained no serial number, according to the arrest affidavit. Due to the absence of markings on the rifle it was believed to be a ghost gun, detectives alleged.

Authorities also seized four boxes of assorted ammunition and $25,000 cash from the home.

With the charges, detectives alleged Kay was prohibited from possessing firearms due to his prior criminal history.

Kay also pleaded guilty to charges of possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance and person not to possess firearms in connection with a separate March 2021 incident in the borough.

Court documents indicate Norristown detectives executed a search warrant at Kay’s Buttonwood Street residence on March 31, 2021. During the search, investigators found a loaded Ruger .40-caliber handgun “just inside the front door on a table in plain view,” detectives wrote in the arrest affidavit.

Additionally, detectives seized ten bundles of suspected heroin/fentanyl that was stamped “SLOW,” the same stamp that was observed on suspected fentanyl or heroin that was recovered during two previous controlled buys that occurred in March 2021, detectives alleged.

Detectives alleged that based on their training and experience, they believed that the suspected heroin/fentanyl “was possessed by Kay with the intent to deliver.”

Other charges of possession of controlled substances and possession of drug paraphernalia were dismissed against Kay.