Woman draws decades in prison for lead role in multi-county gun trafficking network

NORRISTOWN — Saying she has a duty to protect the public, a judge ensured that a Philadelphia woman will join her boyfriend in prison for at least two decades for helping him operate a multi-county gun and drug trafficking organization.

“The two of you were like a modern-day ‘Bonnie and Clyde.’ You loved the lifestyle,” Montgomery County Judge Wendy G. Rothstein addressed Bella Skylar Kenna on Thursday, adding that instead of robbing banks, Kenna and her boyfriend, Scott Michael Grondin, led a dangerous gun and drug trafficking enterprise.

Rothstein sentenced Kenna, 22, of the 2300 block of North 9th Street, to 20 to 40 years in the State Correctional Institution at Muncy, a sentence identical to the one the judge handed to Grondin, 43, also of the Philadelphia address, last month.

Testimony revealed the corrupt organization run by Grondin and Kenna was responsible for moving or attempting to move 17 firearms into the stream of illegal criminal activity and only seven of the firearms have been recovered. The organization also distributed controlled substances, including methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine and marijuana.

The gun trafficking organization had tentacles in Montgomery, Delaware, Chester and Philadelphia counties.

“Many of these guns are still out there. Your conduct has put the public at risk. Your actions here are not a mistake. You made a conscious decision to engage in criminal activity,” said Rothstein, referring to a photograph, presented as evidence by prosecutors, that depicted Kenna proudly brandishing a gun while taking a cellphone selfie. “I have a duty to protect the public. There needs to be consequences.”

Kenna previously pleaded guilty to charges of corrupt organizations, illegal sale or transfer of firearms to ineligible persons, unsworn falsification to authorities, altering or obliterating serial numbers of firearms, dealing in proceeds of unlawful activities, person not to possess firearms, possession with intent to deliver controlled substances and conspiracy in connection with incidents that occurred between January 2023 and April 2024.

With the charges, prosecutors alleged Kenna purchased or solicited others to buy 17 guns for the organization. Grondin and Kenna used straw purchase schemes to meet their goals.

A straw purchase occurs when someone who is legally allowed to purchase a firearm purchases one and then illegally transfers or sells it to someone who is not permitted to purchase that firearm.

Kenna wept as sheriff’s deputies escorted her from the courtroom to begin serving the sentence.

Earlier, before learning her fate, Kenna pleaded for mercy from the judge, claiming that at the time of her criminal conduct, she did not comprehend the dangerous nature of straw purchasing.

“I now know the damage I caused. I know that I made a mistake. I take accountability for that. I’m extremely embarrassed and ashamed,” said Kenna, maintaining that while she’s been in jail awaiting court action, she has found faith in God and engaged in counseling and treatment programs to turn her life around. “The thought of the guns getting into the wrong hands haunts me every day.”

But Assistant District Attorney Robert Joseph Waeltz Jr. and co-prosecutor Blair Rohlfing played for the judge a recording of a jailhouse phone conversation Kenna had with a friend as late as May 6, during which she appeared to suggest that she didn’t think what she did was a violent crime.

“She still doesn’t get it. That’s what tells this court that she has not been rehabilitated,” argued Waeltz, who sought the 20-to-40-year prison term, which included consecutive terms for some of the illegal gun purchases or transfers.

Defense witnesses characterized Kenna as a repentant, caring and kind woman who grew up in an unstable environment, “a good person who lost her way” and turned to drugs to alleviate her stressors. Relatives and friends suggested Grondin, with whom Kenna shares a child, swept her into a life of crime.

“She was under his thumb,” argued defense lawyer Anthony F. Godshall, who sought a prison term of 5 to 10 years for Kenna. “Realistically, in this case, her acceptance of responsibility is admirable.”

But Waeltz argued Kenna was “an active leader in this organization” who filled in for Grondin at times and “grabbed the reins with excitement and joy to accomplish his goals.”

“The two together led the crew that was responsible for flooding the streets with illegal guns and drugs. This conspiracy would not work without her. She knew what she was doing. She knew what she was doing was dangerous and she did it anyway,” Waeltz argued.

“This defendant claims to have been manipulated and coerced into the criminal lifestyle by Grondin, yet her actions evidence something completely different  — a young woman who was enamored with material possessions and a lifestyle fueled only by criminal activity, a young woman who directed other less fortunate individuals down a path of criminality and addiction,” Waeltz and Rohlfing wrote in a sentencing memorandum.

Authorities alleged the firearms were purchased on behalf of Grondin, who, as a result of a previous burglary conviction, could not legally purchase or possess firearms. Grondin then offered the firearms to his gun and drug trafficking customers, detectives alleged.

Prosecutors alleged Kenna and Grondin also obliterated the serial numbers of seven of the firearms they illegally obtained.

“The guns are in the streets, untraceable without serial numbers because of her actions. We will never be able to know the true danger of what she has done,” Waeltz argued.

Grondin and Kenna were among seven people arrested last year and accused of participating in the corrupt organization.

Asad Sayed, 28, of Philadelphia, previously pleaded guilty to charges of corrupt organizations and related offenses and is awaiting sentencing. Testimony revealed Kenna and Grondin solicited Sayed to purchase four guns for the organization at gun shops in West Chester and Philadelphia.

Christopher Michael McNelly, 28, of the 700 block of Kohn Street, Norristown, previously pleaded guilty to charges of corrupt organizations and related charges and is awaiting a sentencing hearing. According to testimony, Grondin and Kenna solicited McNelly to purchase two guns for the organization at stores in the Norristown area.

Kenna was accused of personally purchasing three firearms over 35 days, including at a gun show in Oaks.

McNelly, Kenna and Sayed could legally purchase firearms, according to court papers.

“The purpose of this corrupt organization was to illegally obtain and distribute numerous firearms to others to be used for illegal activity. Once this gun trafficking organization received these firearms, they obliterated the serial numbers. We know the objective of such behavior is to circumvent law enforcement investigations into violent crimes, in turn concealing the true end recipient of the firearm,” county Detective Richard Hoffner and state police Trooper Michael Primerano wrote in a criminal complaint.

The investigation determined the center of the group’s operations was in the 2300 block of North 9th Street in Philadelphia, where Grondin and Kenna resided. Detectives alleged a large number of “short-term visitors consistent with drug trafficking and illegal activity,” and surveillance “confirmed this residence is the center-point of this operation.”

The investigation began in December 2023 at a gun show at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center in Oaks, Upper Providence Township, where members of the group purchased multiple firearms and exhibited suspicious behavior, according to authorities.

Members of the county’s Violent Crime Unit reviewed the gun purchasing behavior of several conspirators, which uncovered “numerous indicators of straw purchases.” The investigation involved physical surveillance and firearms purchase paperwork.

“In this investigation, we recovered photographs of firearms they illegally purchased, including some showing firearms with their serial numbers obliterated,” detectives alleged in court papers. “Their captured communications detailed their agreed-upon plans to illegally acquire firearms to sell on the street for profit after obliterating the serial numbers.”

Detectives alleged that members of the straw purchasing organization purchased or transferred the 17 firearms between Jan. 19, 2023, and Feb. 26, 2024.

The weapons purchased by the co-conspirators included 9mm semiautomatic handguns, .357-caliber, .22-caliber, and .40-caliber revolvers and 12-gauge shotguns.

The investigation included physical surveillance of some of the defendants at the gun shows in Oaks.

As the investigation progressed, authorities learned some members of the organization were also participating in separate drug trafficking activities in Montgomery and Philadelphia counties. During the investigation, detectives conducted several so-called “controlled buys” of significant quantities of methamphetamine from Grondin and Kenna, authorities alleged.

Testimony revealed authorities confiscated about 900 grams of methamphetamine during the investigation.

“This organization not only sold controlled substances on a consistent frequent basis but also supplied illegal firearms to others. Their ongoing drug trafficking in connection with the various indicators further supports our assertion that these firearms were purchased illegally with the intention of being involved in criminal activity,” Hoffner and Primerano alleged.

The county’s Violent Crime Unit and state police were assisted during the investigation by members of the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General’s Gun Violence Task Force and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.