A Norristown man is headed to jail and banned from Panico’s Neighborhood Grill and Sports Tavern in Lansdale after confessing to shooting a gun outside the Cannon Avenue bar last March.
According to The Reporter, Eddie Christopher Cox, 34, of the 300 block of East Marshall Street, was sentenced, as part of a plea deal, by Judge Wendy G. Rothstein to 9 to 23 months in county jail after pleading guilty to felony discharging a firearm into an occupied structure. Per court records, Cox also pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of reckless endangerment.
The plea deal came days before his Feb. 29 trial, per the report.
Cox gets credit for time served from March 29 to Aug. 25, 2023 when he awaited court action on the charges, per the report. He must also serve one year of parole and then one year of probation, according to reports.
Cox’s alleged associate in the crime – Abigail Rubi, 39, of Norristown – was arraigned in April 2023 on two felony counts of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, one felony count of conspiracy to discharge a firearm into an occupied structure, and misdemeanor conspiracy counts of reckless endangerment and possession of a weapon.
Police were dispatched to the 500 block of North Cannon Avenue shortly before 2 a.m. on March 3, 2023 for a report of a disturbance. Investigators said Cox got into an altercation with patrons at the bar, after which he and Rubi began to leave. Once outside, Cox and Rubi began walking toward the parking lot, at which point Cox retrieved a handgun from Rubi’s purse and fired a single shot towards the bar, according to charging documents.
The two suspects then got into a dark colored sedan and fled the scene eastbound, police said.
The investigation determined that a bystander was nearly struck by the bullet, which ultimately struck a support pole on the porch, according to the criminal complaint. A 9mm Luger shell casing was recovered by police at the scene, and both the initial incident inside the bar and the shooting incident outside the bar were captured on surveillance footage, police said.
No injuries were reported.
There is no criminal docket information in the Pennsylvania Unified Judicial System available on Rubi. Prior to her preliminary hearing, she was being held at the county jail on $99,000 cash bail. However, there is no longer a publicly available record of her arrest, bail, or court proceedings.
See also:
Arrest Made in Connection with Shooting Incident Outside of Panico’s in Lansdale
Father and Son from Chalfont Accused of Distributing Cocaine and Methamphetamine
Man Gets Probation for Attempting to Sell Stolen Dog Back to Owner in Towamencin
Lansdale Mental Health Co-responder Reports on Successes
