By MICHAEL RUBINKAM
Associated Press Writer
ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania- A man who owned the gun used to kill a police officer was ordered held without bail Tuesday on charges that he lied on his federal firearms application.
Jarad Tomline, 28, purchased six high-powered weapons between December and July, including the .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol used in the Aug. 6 killing of Officer Scott Wertz, federal prosecutors said.
Because only 23 days elapsed from the time Tomline bought the pistol to when it was used in the killing, “the inference may be drawn that it was a fraudulent purchase,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Futcher.
None of the other weapons purchased by Tomline this year has been recovered. Tomline has refused to say what happened to them, nor has he reported any of them stolen, authorities said.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Arnold Rapoport denied bail to Tomline, saying the missing weapons pose a significant threat to the community.
“There are perhaps a half-dozen high-powered weapons out there in the community. I can’t be unmindful of the fact of what one of them did,” said Rapoport, who refused an offer from Tomline’s grandparents to secure his bail.
Tomline, an unemployed car salesman, allegedly gave a false address when he purchased the Ruger pistol last month from a local gun shop.
The offense is punishable by five years in prison and a $250,000 (euro195,130) fine, although Futcher said a judge could add more prison time because the gun was used in a killing.
Wertz, 40, and another officer were chasing a suspect when the man turned and fired, hitting Wertz twice in the chest, authorities said. Cletus C. Rivera, 24, is being held in Berks County Prison without bail on a charge of first-degree murder.