Philadelphia man sentenced to prison in Lower Merion for illegal possession of weapons

NORRISTOWN – A Philadelphia man has been jailed for illegally possessing a loaded firearm in Lower Merion Township. The crime was discovered during a police traffic stop.

Theodore Thomas Simmons, 48, of the 1100 block of Adams Avenue, was sentenced this week in Montgomery County District Court to serve four to 10 years in a state correctional facility on charges of unlawful possession of a firearm in connection with a Sept. 27, 2022, incident near the Royal Athena apartment complex on Righters Ferry Road in Lower Merion.

Judge Wendy G. Rothstein also ordered that the weapon seized from Simmons be turned over to the prosecutor for destruction.

Rothstein found Simmons guilty in May in a non-jury trial in which Simmons relied on evidence from a criminal complaint filed by Lower Merion police. A jury had been empaneled for the trial, but just before testimony was set to begin, Simmons decided to let the judge review the evidence instead and serve as sole fact-finder.

In charging the suspect, police based their decision on the fact that Simmons did not own a firearm due to a previous conviction and did not have a license to carry a firearm.

Assistant District Attorney William Harry Highland III pointed to the danger posed by illegal guns on the streets and argued for a long prison sentence against Simmons.

“This is a person who is a convicted felon, is not allowed to own a gun, and had one in his possession,” Highland said.

“Here in Montgomery County, we do not take it lightly when someone does not possess firearms, even if we find them with them. We will prosecute these cases. We will not turn a blind eye to felons with firearms here in Montgomery County,” Highland added.

The investigation began on September 27, 2022 at approximately 11:35 p.m., when Lower Merion Police responded to a report of a suspicious vehicle in front of the apartment complex in the 600 block of Righters Ferry Road in the Bala Cynwyd neighborhood of the township.

Arriving officers observed a Nissan Altima on the sidewalk on the north side of the apartment complex, according to an affidavit. The sidewalk was impassable to motor vehicles and blocked by yellow bollards, said Lower Merion Detective David Auxter.

Police determined the vehicle was being driven by a woman and Simmons was the passenger. While speaking with Simmons, an officer noticed “a firearm in a bag that Simmons was holding on his lap,” according to the criminal complaint.

Simmons was dragged from the vehicle and a Springfield Armory 9mm handgun was recovered from the bag Simmons was carrying, police said.

“There were thirteen bullets in the gun, including one bullet in the chamber,” Auxter claimed.

During the investigation, police discovered that Simmons had previously been convicted of a felony and did not have a license to carry a firearm, court documents show.

Defense attorney Eugene P. Tinari represented Simmons during the trial.

Originally published: August 28, 2024 at 2:02 p.m.