GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — A North Carolina State Trooper was arrested Wednesday, accused of selling guns to someone he allegedly knew was a convicted felon, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice.
A criminal complaint alleges trooper Timothy Norman, 47, of Browns Summit, sold guns to his friend, Tommy Hudson, of Reidsville. Hudson is the subject of a drug trafficking investigation and was convicted on felony assault charges in 2016, according to the complaint filed by an FBI special agent.
Norman is charged with unlawful transfer of a firearm to a prohibited person. He could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted. Hudson is charged with felon in possession of a firearm. He also faces up to 10 years in prison.
The FBI started investigating trooper Norman in January 2021 after getting information from the Raleigh Police Department. Raleigh PD learned through a confidential informant that trooper Norman sold guns to Hudson. The criminal complaint stated the informant learned that trooper Norman and Hudson had known each other for several years before Norman became a highway patrolman.
On May 12, the FBI did a controlled gun sale from Hudson and trooper Norman using the informant. The purchase was recorded by the informant and surveilled by the FBI and NC-SBI ground agents.
Electronic records showed the serial number on the gun sold to Hudson, later given to the informant, was the same serial number on a gun that trooper Norman bought on January 14.
The criminal complaint document outlines another controlled gun sale on June 8. The report states the informant and Hudson met trooper Norman on this date, and Norman sold two guns to the informant for a total of $3,200. The informant used FBI case funds to purchase the weapons which were then seized by investigators.
The FBI conducted another successful gun sale between the informant and trooper Norman on June 24. The report states trooper Norman met the informant in his marked patrol car and in uniform at a closed Greensboro gas station. Trooper Norman accepted $2,000 from the informant for a semi-automatic pistol. During the purchase, the informant said to the trooper, "I should have had you to get me some of them bullets." The report states trooper Norman replied, "My house ain't but right down the road if you want some bullets."
Highway Patrol said trooper Norman was with the department since 2012. He resigned July 7 - the day he was arrested.
Trooper Norman and Hudson are scheduled to appear in court on July 14 in Greensboro.
Editor's note: The photo included in this story is Timothy Norman's highway patrolman photo issued by the DMV. It is not a booking photo.
