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WEST CHESTER — The jury hearing the case of a Philadelphia man who got two handguns from a Chester County woman took less than three hours to bring back a finding of guilt on charges of illegal weapons possession.
The panel heard the case of Ramon Duane Cook in Judge Patrick Carmody’s courtroom last week, returning with its verdict on Wednesday afternoon.
Cook, 27, of Philadelphia, was guilty of two counts of a person not to possess, use, manufacture, control, sell or transfer firearms. Cook has a 2014 conviction for felony robbery which makes him ineligible to lawfully possess a firearm.
Cook, “had already been convicted of serious felony charges and still intentionally possessed firearms-one which he stole,” said District Attorney Deb Ryan in a social media post issued following the verdict. “We have zero tolerance for the illegal possession of firearms in this county.
According to court records and testimony, a Parkesburg woman, Kyra Jones, reported to borough police in August 2021 that she was missing a Smith & Wesson .22 semi-automatic from her home. She believed that an acquaintance, Cook, had taken it from her apartment a few days before.
Jones told Sgt. Ryan Murtagh, who investigated he case, that she had previously given another firearm – a 9mm Smith & Wesson, to Cook when they met in Lancaster County in April 2021.
Jones told police that she called Cook on Aug. 31 and confronted him about the missing gun. She said that Cook admitted taking the weapon but that he no longer had it or the gun he had gotten from Jones earlier.
A few days later, Murtagh was able to listen to a voce message left for Jones by Cook in which he made incriminating statements about the guns. He demanded money from her and threatened to file off the serial numbers of the guns unless she did so.
At the trial, Jones admitted that she first said that two guns had been taken from her, only to amended her statement later that she had volunteered to give Cook the 9mm. She has been charged with false reports to law enforcement and is awaiting trial.
In Cook’s defense, Assistant Public Defender Grant Bloomdahl argued that Jones could not be trusted to give truthful testimony. However, the existence of the voice recording, played to the jury, apparently helped sway their decision.
Cook is being held in Chester County Prison on a parole detainer, and will be sentenced at a later date.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Santina Pescatore.
To contact staff writer Michael P. Rellahan call 610-696-1544.
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