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NJ Arrests Corrections Officer With Out-of-State Carry Permit

5K views 85 replies 44 participants last post by  Scrappy 
#1 · (Edited)
Corrections Officer With Gun Permit Faces Charges for Illegally Carrying His Gun — and You Won’t Believe How It All Went Down
A Pennsylvania corrections officer who says he was the victim of a drunken driving accident in New Jersey ended up facing charges himself when he told police he had a handgun, the Associated Press reported.

Raymond Hughes told the AP Friday he was driving home with his wife after dinner in Atlantic City last month when the crash occurred in Glassboro.

He told police he had a handgun under his seat, and officers secured his personal 9mm Glock handgun while he went to the hospital, he said. But days later, he was charged with not having a New Jersey permit despite having a license to carry in neighboring Pennsylvania.

“I’m one of the good guys,” Hughes said. “Now they’re trying to make me one of the people I protect society from.”

Hughes, 46, is the latest to be charged with carrying a gun legally owned in another state into New Jersey, which has strict limits on how and where weapons can be transported and doesn’t recognize carry permits from other states.

Hughes’s attorney, Evan Nappen, said Hughes faces a minimum of 3 ½ years in prison if he’s convicted. Nappen said he’s trying to get the charges dismissed, as well as a pardon from New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Christie’s office did not immediately comment on the matter.
 
#3 ·
One would think someone in that line of work and proximity would know the law. Stupid as that law is. I would also think NJ law would have a different category for LE personnel. Especially in neighboring states. Hopefully NJ will recognize the conundrum their stupid laws put good people in and change them. In the meantime, this poor guy is in deep doo doo. How do you dismiss or pardon this guy but not some PA citizen good guy who makes the same mistake. Christie seems to have a track record of making some of these cases right but I'm sure they don't want to show a bias just because of this guy's job/status.
 
#5 ·
I wonder what Gov. Christie's position on these will be now that he is no longer actively trying for the nomination.
 
#51 ·
I and the wife never set foot or spend our $ in socialist anti-freedom states such as Maryland or Jersey.
 
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#11 ·
PA corrections officers and sheriffs are not covered under LEOSA. Obviously he never looked into LEOSA. The fact he has a PA license to carry means nothing.
 
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#14 ·
I vaguely recall a threat made by a senior N.J. LEO or bureaucrat/politician against people from out of state carrying with LEOSA credentials. I seem to remember them saying something like," Do you really want to be the test case." :dunno:

I wish I paid more attention to it but I have no need to travel to the Eastern seaboard so I must have done a brain dump. :ack:

It definitely shows the mentality of some people though.

Regards,
Happyguy :)
 
#16 ·
I vaguely recall a threat made by a senior N.J. LEO or bureaucrat/politician against people from out of state carrying with LEOSA credentials. I seem to remember them saying something like," Do you really want to be the test case."
It would be an interesting case and I think the state would lose based on the supremacy clause in the Constitution. The problem of course is their attorneys are salary and yours or mine would be hourly, but would a DA take it to trial?
 
#17 ·
Because the sheriffs powers of arrest lay in common law, just as a regular citizen. They do not have statutory powers of arrest like regular LE and can only arrest for breaches of the peace that occur in their presence.
 
#20 ·
They do not have statutory powers of arrest like regular LE and can only arrest for breaches of the peace that occur in their presence.
That's interesting. Probably the first I've ever heard of that (and I retired after 24 years as a fed leo). So who investigates crimes in the unincorporated areas not served by a PD?
 
#45 ·
I think it is the State Police. Not sure about PA, but Sherrif Departments in NJ are sworn officers, but (generally) do not provide basic police services to their county. They have jurisdiction on county property, including court security, and also provide other LE services, such as K9, EOD, etc.
 
#25 ·
The PA State Police handle any investigations in areas that do not have their own police department.
 
#28 ·
New Jersey Gun Charge Dropped Against Pennsylvania Guard
A prosecutor in New Jersey has dropped a felony gun charge against a Pennsylvania corrections officer, noting that officers only learned that the guard had a gun in his car because he was the victim of a drunken driving crash.

Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton said Monday that the charge against Raymond Hughes of carrying a weapon without a state permit was inappropriate.

Hughes had a Pennsylvania carry permit, but it wasn't recognized by New Jersey's strict gun laws. He faced a minimum of 3 ½ years in prison if he was found guilty.

Police in Glassboro filed the charges last month. Dalton said the prosecutor's office had been reviewing the case but decided to dismiss the charges instead of allowing the case to move forward.

"In this particular case, Mr. Hughes was the victim of a crime prior to any violation of New Jersey gun law," Dalton said.

Hughes said he and his wife were on their way home from a concert and dinner in Atlantic Citylast month when a drunken driver hit their vehicle. He told police he had a handgun under his seat, and officers secured his personal 9mm Glock handgun while he went to the hospital, he said. He was charged days later.

Hughes, 46, was the latest to be charged with carrying a legally owned gun into New Jersey, which doesn't recognize carry permits from other states. Last year, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie pardoned at least six people who faced similar charges.

"I am very happy and very thankful to the prosecutor's office," Hughes told The Associated Press on Monday.
 
#67 ·
I was driving down a back road in Vt saw a "lawn Sale" sign and took a look, little old lady had a collection of odds and ends on a picnic table for sale that included an old S&W Revolver and a 1911A1 .45 if U did that in NY they'd land a helicopter full of Ninjas on your lawn and haul U off to county jail plus probably execute a search warrant to see if U had any other guns
 
#32 ·
Interesting decision by the prosecutor. I like it when they decide to not prosecute laws I do not like. But I do not like it when they decide to not prosecute laws I do like.
 
#66 ·
HR218 sez that the retiree holder must have held a position where he had authority to make "arrests" many states corrections officers have no "powers of arrest" by their state Law - its causing alot of problems, it may have been dismissed but he-she is still not covered by the law, attempts are being made 2 fix it but it requires a congressional bill to amend the wording.
 
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