2 charged, accused of selling ‘burner' gun out of Altoona house
ALTOONA, Pa. (WTAJ) — Two men, one of whom with a third-degree murder conviction, were accused of selling a 'burner' gun to an Altoona police informant Tuesday.
Kenneth M. Brobeck, 33, and Eugene Martin Morales, 36, both of Altoona, were charged Wednesday, May 14, after allegedly selling a gun the day before to an informant. The informant is also a felon not to possess firearms, police noted in the criminal complaint.
According to charges, an informant went to police and said they could buy a gun illegally from someone they know as '9.' Police noted they're familiar with '9,' who is actually Brobeck. A sale was set up at a home on the 1800 block of 10th Street in the City.
Police watched as the informant entered the home, and they were able to identify Brobeck when he came out to the porch. According to the complaint, the informant later emerged and left the house, handing a backpack to police that had the gun inside.
According to the informant's information, police said they went inside the house and mostly dealt with 'Taliban,' a man known to police as Morales, to get the gun and handed him $500. The informant also claimed the duo works together to sell guns and drugs from the house. They also alleged it's not the first time they've bought a gun from the two.
It was noted that police discovered who the owner of the handgun was, and it's not Bobeck nor Morales.
Police executed a search warrant where a third person in the house claimed she watched the gun purchase between Brobeck, Morales and the informant. According to the complaint, the same caliber bullet for the gun was found in the home.
According to the complaint, both men are felons not allowed to possess firearms.
A 2010 story from Lehigh Valley Live shows that Morales was sentenced to 10 to 40 years after a woman was killed when he crashed a stolen SUV in the Allentown area. Court documents show he entered a guilty plea for aggravated assault, receiving stolen property, and murder in the third degree.At this time, Morales has not been arraigned. Brobeck, however, was arraigned and placed in Blair County Prison with bail set at $100,000.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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