On November 29, 2013, a police officer saw a box truck parked in the wrong direction on a street. He also observed that its tires were partially in the roadway. The officer asked for identification, and each man provided a Pennsylvania driver’s license. Defendant was the driver. The officer checked the identifications through dispatch and learned that defendant had two outstanding arrest warrants. The officer then asked defendant to step out of the truck, told him that he was being placed under arrest, and directed him to put his hands up.
The officer called for backup, handcuffed defendant, and retrieved a gun from defendant’s waistband—a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum revolver loaded with four hollow-point bullets and two slug rounds. During a search, the officer also recovered a concealed-carry permit that the State of Florida had issued to defendant. Defendant said that, because of the permit, he thought he had not done anything wrong. This is a common misconception that often leads to the arrest of out-of-state gun owners in New Jersey.
On February 20, 2014, a grand jury returned an indictment that charged defendant with second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon and fourth-degree possession of hollow-point bullets.