A Montgomery County man was arrested after he allegedly stole several weapons, including an Ak-47, from local gun shops and then sold them illegally. One of the stolen weapons was used in a shooting that nearly took the life of a young child, according to investigators.
Andrew Rocco, 33, of Lansdale is charged with burglary, theft and several firearms violations.
Rocco allegedly broke into Dell’s Firearm Specialists Inc. on the 1200 block of Walnut Street in Hatfield Township back on June 2. He then stole a Romanian Arms AK-47 rifle, Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum revolver and a silver Walther PPK .380-caliber handgun.
While police responded to the theft and took a report, they had little clues to work with. That changed June 20 however when two men entered Dell's.
“One of the individuals purchased .44 ammunition,” said Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman. “The wife of the owner of the gun shop happened to notice the cellphone of one of the individuals where there was a photograph of what appeared to be the Ruger, or something similar to the Ruger that had been stolen.”
The other man, later identified as 31-year-old James Mulbah, bought the ammunition with his credit card, police said.
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After the two men left, the owner contacted police who continued the investigation.
On June 24, police identified 27-year-old Mack Clayton as the man with the cellphone. Clayton was taken into custody and allegedly told officials he had a photograph on his phone of the stolen Ruger which he later deleted. He also told police he had nothing to do with the theft, according to officials. Police obtained a search warrant and confiscated his cellphone for analysis.
On July 6, Rocco allegedly broke into Modern Tactical on West Main Street in Lansdale and stole seven handguns and two long guns.
On Aug. 8, forensic analysis of Clayton’s cellphone revealed more photographs of the stolen guns. The photos showed Clayton posing with one of the weapons, police said. Other photos included the stolen Ruger and a man later identified as 30-year-old Damian Morris, posing with the weapon, according to investigators.
On Aug. 19, Morris and Clayton were arrested and charged with receiving stolen property. Mulbah was then arrested on Aug. 21 and charged with being in possession of the stolen Ruger, which was recovered by police.
On Nov. 3, a shooting occurred in Norristown outside a home. A gunman fired multiple shots at the house, according to police. One bullet struck a wall that was less than three feet away from where an 8-year-old child was sitting. That same day, Franklin Butler, 33, was arrested in connection to the shooting.
While being questioned, Butler allegedly admitted to buying the Walther PPK as well as a stolen 9mm Springfield from Andrew Rocco during a straw purchase.
Rocco was arrested Nov. 6 on unrelated charges after he allegedly broke into cars and stole credit cards. While in custody, he allegedly admitted to breaking into the gun shops and selling the stolen firearms. He is currently being held on $1 million bail.
Ten stolen weapons, including the AK-47, still have not been recovered. Investigators also said a man who purchased one of the stolen weapons was killed during a Philadelphia shooting in October. Officials have not revealed that man’s identity or the circumstances of his death but say the incident is currently under investigation.
“If there is anyone out in the community who hears this or who hears my voice or who reads a report of this and has knowledge of any of those firearms, I would encourage them to call law enforcement,” Ferman said.
If you have any information on the stolen weapons, please call the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office at 610-278-3000.
