5 Homicides, Shootings Tied To Montco Gun Trafficker: DA

GLENSIDE, PA — A Glenside man has been taken into custody on numerous charges related to firearm trafficking, and authorities said some of the trafficked guns are tied to homicides and shootings.

Tamir Hartsock, 23, of Glenside, was arrested on more than 150 counts related to firearm trafficking, court records show.

According to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office, Hartsock bought and sold 15 guns, four of which have been connected to homicides and other violent crimes.

The investigation began in April after Philadelphia Police recovered firearms from people not allowed to possess a firearm and those guns were linked back to purchases by Hartsock, which is indicative of straw purchasing and gun trafficking, the DA's office said.

Investigators learned Hartsock bought his first two guns on Sept. 9, 2020, less than a month after his 21st birthday, and then continued buying handguns through December 2022.

At one point, he bought seven handguns in a four-month period.

Of those 15 firearms he purchased, only four have been recovered, meaning 11 are still unaccounted for, the DA's office said.

The tenth firearm purchased by Hartsock — a Glock, Model G27, .40 caliber, semiautomatic purchased on Feb. 19, 2021 — was recovered by Philadelphia Police on April 28 at the scene of a triple homicide at 5957 Palmetto St., according to the DA's office.

A bullet taken from the body of one of the deceased was entered into the National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, which generated a lead.

That lead was confirmed by Philadelphia Police through a ballistic comparison, finding that the bullet came from the Hartsock-purchased Glock, authorities said.

Another lead linked the same gun to a shooting that two months earlier on Jan. 23, at 3670 W. Indian Lane.

The first firearm Hartsock purchased on Sept. 9, 2020 — a Glock, Model 22, .40 caliber, semi-automatic handgun — was recovered on Sept. 6, 2022, by Philadelphia Police when they heard approximately 50 shots fired in the Carlisle Street area, according to the DA's office.

Police stopped a fleeing vehicle and took three occupants into custody, one of whom was in possession of the Glock and was arrested on firearms charges.

The DA's office said investigators then connected the gun to four violent crimes in Philadelphia:

• Jan. 15, 2021 – shooting at 5043 Greene St., with no victims on scene;
• Aug. 4, 2021 – shooting at 3652 Germantown Ave., where police found four victims with gunshot wounds;
• Aug. 19, 2021 – homicide at 5104 Germantown Ave., where one person was killed and five others were shot;
• May 30, 2022 – homicide at 1543 W. Erie Ave., where one man was found dead, and more than 25 empty shell casings were recovered on scene from three different guns.

Two other guns Hartsock bought were also recovered: one on June 26, 2021, during a DUI checkpoint in Philadelphia at which the driver was charged with DUI and firearms violations, and one on Oct. 7, 2022, during a traffic stop by Marple Township Police where both the driver and the passenger were arrested on firearms charges, authorities said.

The majority of Hartsock’s gun purchases were made online, then, as required by law, the firearms were shipped to a federally licensed firearms dealer in Montgomery County, who completed the required forms and background check to complete the transaction.

He is being held on $500,000 cash bail and is scheduled for a June 1 preliminary hearing.