Motor Vehicle Stop in North Arlington NJ turns up a Stolen 9mm Handgun

The North Arlington police department is reporting that they have arrested three Hudson County residents and charged them with the unlawful possession of a weapon (i.e. guns). Apparently, do to all of the shootings that have been happening in Essex County, the North Arlington Police Department immediately contacted the Newark New Jersey detectives to inform them of their findings. According to the reports, in addition to the handgun recovered, the officers also found four spent shells.

The initial reports indicate that the recovery stemmed from a routine traffic stop if of the vehicle. Once Officer Christopher Redmann approached the vehicle, he claims he saw, in “plain view”, a bag of marijuana. It is unclear what happened next but apparently a K-9 unit was called to the scene and during a subsequent search of the vehicle is when the loaded  9mm Luger handgun. To make matters worse, the handgun has been reported stolen out of Illinois. All three men were taken into custody and are currently being held in the Bergen County Jail.

The governing statute for unlawful possession of weapon is N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5. The unlawful possession of a handgun is second degree crime in New Jersey. However, if the defendant has previously been convicted under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5 or any criminal offense that is subject to the No Early Release Act (NERA), pursuant to the August 2013 amendments to the Graves Act, then the defendant will be guilty of a first degree crime. A first degree crime in New Jersey is punishable by up to twenty (20) years in State Prison.

If you or someone you know has been charged with a criminal offense like harassment, stalking, assault, robbery or DWI in towns like Cliffside Park, Lodi, Garfield, Bogota or anywhere else in Bergen County, we can help. If you would like a free initial consultation with any one of our eight criminal defense attorneys on staff please call us directly at 1-800-682-4037.