A Philadelphia man admitted to placing a gun in the hands of a cop killer.
On Tuesday, during a court appearance, Michael Henry, 31, of Mantua, pleaded guilty to buying a gun that was later used by Andrew Thomas to shoot and kill Plymouth Township Police Officer Brad Fox last September. Thomas later killed himself as police pursued him.
Henry entered the plea in Montgomery County court to charges of the illegal sale or transfer of nine firearms and lying on gun purchase applications.
Police say Thomas was unable to buy his own guns and paid Henry to do it. Henry admitted he bought the guns for Thomas in 2002 and 2012. A source close to the investigation told NBC10’s Deanna Durante that Henry was using the money to pay for his drug habit. Henry’s lawyer, Craig Hosay, says his client is sorry for what he did.
“You brought up his anxiety, his depression and his drug dependency,” said Durante. “Is that going to be offered at sentencing as an excuse for what he did?”
“No,” replied Hosay. “There is no excuse for what he did.”
Officer Fox was married with a baby girl. His wife is currently pregnant with the couple’s son. She stared directly at Henry as he was leaving the courtroom but Henry said nothing to her.
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“You have a widow with a very small child and another on the way that do not have their father,” said Montgomery County First Assistant District Attorney Kevin Steele. “This individual provided a weapon to the man that murdered Brad Fox."
Prosecutors say there was no plea deal in exchange for Henry to plead guilty on Tuesday. He is facing 40 to 80 years in prison. His sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
