Shotgun with a Pistol grip

[DJNEB 1]

I have a contact with the CHPD. He was not aware of this incident. Update to follow.

 

I would greatly appreciate any help you can offer. THANK YOU very much for even offering.

[PK90 3,573]

I also would like to add that I upon being stopped by police they asked for my papers on the purchasing the gun. I said I did not have them with me. They then asked for my FID and I said That was in wallet. They ran a check from the serial number on the gun and saw I purchased it that same day and That my record was clear.

 

Hmmm. Something is missing here.

[vladtepes 1,060]

What do you mean update to follow? I would greatly appreciate any help you can offer.

 

 

If he can help you.. I am %100 sure he will.. PK90 is a stand up guy..

[DJNEB 1]

 

should he call the sate police? and just ask them.. and then when they laugh tell them what happened? maybe nip this before it even gets to court?

 

 

I am actually living in an area that is controlled by the SP. I went through them to get my FID. dont know if that makes a difference?

[Tactical Monkey 51]

I would greatly appreciate any help you can offer. THANK YOU very much for even offering.

 

PK90 is looking into the situation for you... It might take some time

[DJNEB 1]

Hmmm. Something is missing here.

 

 

What do you mean?

[PK90 3,573]

What do you mean?

 

They verified that you purchased it legally, you had your FPID on you, and you were legally transporting it. All before you were arrested. Something doesn't jive.

[DJNEB 1]

They verified that you purchased it legally, you had your FPID on you, and you were legally transporting it. All before you were arrested. Something doesn't jive.

 

They said it was in arms reach, but then the officer said he would not include that in the report. And i previously posted the complaint word for word, and it was not included. Maybe they just want to scare me a little, making me go to court only to have the case dismissed?

 

But that sounds foolish.

 

Also, just to correct you. They obviously saw it was in a case when stopping me. After i told him I had a gun, he said "I actually thought it was a pool stick". Upon having me in handcuffs on the road for "their safety", they asked if I had the paperwork, and then for my card. I was THEN arrested under the shotgun being an assault weapon. When we were at the station, they asked for my ID and driver license and ran the check there. That is when they saw I purchased it legally and that the record on it was clean.

[Krdshrk 3,878]

You shouldn't have told them it was a gun. :\

[DJNEB 1]

You shouldn't have told them it was a gun. :\

 

 

I was thinking about it, but as I stated before, he saw the stock off, which was on the floor, and then asked if there was a gun with me. If he asked to then check the bag and see it was a gun, I would have been in a real big mess. And he probably would have filed it also under in arms reach.

[vladtepes 1,060]

I was thinking about it, but as I stated before, he saw the stock off, which was on the floor, and then asked if there was a gun with me. If he asked to then check the bag and see it was a gun, I would have been in a real big mess. And he probably would have filed it also under in arms reach.

 

 

was the gun unloaded? I missed that part... also was there a lock on it in any capacity?

 

if you are transporting firearms in your vehicle that does not have a trunk it is a good idea to have them locked...

[dwvcfii 1]

Wow...that's just f'd up. So let me get this straight...

 

The OP isn't guilty of violating STATE law for possessing what you, me and the rest of the world define as a "pump action shotgun", but the ATF reclassifies any shotgun whose stock is switched to a pistol grip, so now the OP is in violation of FEDERAL law for possessing something classified as such while being under 21?

 

Man, where the hell did my country go?

 

Good luck to OP. I would definitely like to hear about the outcome of the case.

[Dan 177]

This is terrible that you have to go through this. NJ's method is guilty until proven innocent when it comes to firearms.

 

I'm not a lawyer. If I were you I'd get one ASAP. You are looking at a 5-10 year sentence if convicted. Not a time to play lawyer and try to represent yourself even if the law is on your side.

 

a) Putting a pistol grip on a pump shotgun does not make it an AW, only applies to semi-auto shotguns

 

B) If a vehicle doesn't have a trunk it is OK, provided it is stored in a fastened and/or locked case. So the "arms reach" thing is a stretch. I wouldn't bring it up anymore as it is not what they are charging you with anyway.

 

c) The important thing is the AW charge is the only thing, proving that once the gun is shown to not be an AW, you are clear as you were transporting it according to the NJ transportation exceptions

 

d) Don't talk to the police anymore on this, talk to a lawyer. Also be careful of the details you post on public forums. No matter how sincere you are, what you say can be used against you.

[Jon 264]

OP I highly suggest you secure an attorney, both to fight the charge and then sue the CHPD once the charges are dropped. You do NOT want to go to court on this without a lawyer.

[DJNEB 1]

the gun was unloaded and there was no ammo in the car. the gun was in a case, but it was a soft case and there was no way to lock it. I was going to order a hard case once i got home.

 

and what does an "OP" mean? and to get this straight, it was legal for me to own a pistol grip shotgun?

[Jon 264]

OP stands for "original poster" and yes based on the responses in this thread you are legally allowed to own a pistol gripped shotgun. The problem is that our word means precisely dick in a court of law.

[bullpin 0]

I can understand one cop being less than smart and thinking he made some real big assault weapons bust,but not all of them. If the are arresting him because of the age requirement i think police would have stated that. I'm sure they dont evev know about the 21 thing. I didn't. Theres gotta be something else.I cant see a whole police dept. fugging up this bad.

[Krdshrk 3,878]

Ah right - well since he asked then you did have to tell himi.

[coldsolderjoint 84]

http://zohnlaw.com/edward.htm

[Drew 4]

http://zohnlaw.com/edward.htm

 

+1

 

My brother also used him and won his case.

[Pizza Bob 1,488]

Let's not confuse the issue with Monday morning quarterbacking. It is pretty straight foreward - he was charged under 2C:39-5,f - which is: Unlawful possession of an assault weapon. In looking at the administrative code the pistol-gripped Mossberg 500 does NOT meet the definition of an assault weapon, ergo, no law was broken and the arrest is invalid. Age or position in the vehicle do not enter into at all - it is a simple possession charge.

 

The OP should just wait and see what PK90 comes up with. If that fails, I would advise that the OP retain a lawyer. Undoubtedly this will probably be thrown out at the preliminary hearing, but it is unfortunate that it will probably cost the OP $1500 or so to make sure that happens. This a sad commentary on what is going on in NJ generally, but more specifically, given what we've learned in other threads, in Cherry Hill.

 

Good luck.

 

Adios,

 

Pizza Bob

[Krdshrk 3,878]

Undoubtedly this will probably be thrown out at the preliminary hearing, but it is unfortunate that it will probably cost the OP $1500 or so to make sure that happens.

 

And most likely he won't get the gun back.

[vladtepes 1,060]

And most likely he won't get the gun back.

 

 

why is that...

 

I am all for a lawyer if you broke the law.. but if he has a violation of "assault weapon" and he has not in fact owned an "assault weapon" why not just go defend himself.. call it a day.. here is what he was charged with... here is what he didn't do.. need a lawyer? probably not.. I have been pushed into issues of appearing in court.. and have even had some form of assault charge wrongly put onto me... I defended myself.. I didn't do it.. clear as day..

[Babaganoosh 192]

why is that...

 

I am all for a lawyer if you broke the law.. but if he has a violation of "assault weapon" and he has not in fact owned an "assault weapon" why not just go defend himself.. call it a day.. here is what he was charged with... here is what he didn't do.. need a lawyer? probably not.. I have been pushed into issues of appearing in court.. and have even had some form of assault charge wrongly put onto me... I defended myself.. I didn't do it.. clear as day..

 

Him not getting a lawyer would be a HUGE mistake. Just my opinion though. If I was him I would already have representation.

[JackDaWack 2,895]

I'm with vlad on this one, i would try and do most of it myself in this type of situation. However, i wouldn't just show up on the day of court to try and explain myself. I would contact the SP, and the Cherry Hill Municipality Chief, possibly arrange an appointment and see what can be done about the charges, possibly contact the prosecutor too. If i was feeling shaky based on the responses from those three, then i would hire a lawyer. It comes down to who your dealing with, if there willing to accept they were wrong drop the charges and everyones happy no need to spend the money on a lawyer, if there gonna play stupid, lawyer up and file counter claims for court and lawyer fees. If i weren't going to hire a lawyer, it would be under one condition only and that would be if i was told on the day of court the charges would be dropped. In all honestly i've paid lawyers to do much less, but that is becuase i knew i had no shot in hell of getting it done myself.

 

Another thing he could do is contact the media, im sure cherry ridge wouldnt like the exposure for being numb nuts.

[vladtepes 1,060]

I'm with vlad on this one, i would try and do most of it myself in this type of situation. However, i wouldn't just show up on the day of court to try and explain myself. I would contact the SP, and the Cherry Hill Municipality Chief, possibly arrange an appointment and see what can be done about the charges, possibly contact the prosecutor too. If i was feeling shaky based on the responses from those three, then i would hire a lawyer. It comes down to who your dealing with, if there willing to accept they were wrong drop the charges and everyones happy no need to spend the money on a lawyer, if there gonna play stupid, lawyer up and file counter claims for court and lawyer fees.

 

 

I am fairly confident a well placed handful of phone calls would solve the problem... you might not get the "right person" the first ten or fifteen times you talk to someone.. but when someone important enough finally figures out how much the ball was dropped.. I think that they would be eager to sweep the mess under the rug..

 

you did NOT break the law you were charged with breaking.. plain and simple..

[Babaganoosh 192]

I might add he is 19 years old. Hardly versed in the ways of "The System" Overeager cops and prosecutors will roll right over him

[JackDaWack 2,895]

I might add he is 19 years old. Hardly versed in the ways of "The System" Overeager cops and prosecutors will roll right over him

If he has a brain, knows the law, and can present himself then age shouldn't matter much. No prosecutor in his right mind would allow this to get to court, if it did there would be a **** storm to follow, including questioning the competence of the entire CH PD. All he really needs to do is bring a copy of the statute with him when he see's the prosecutor, and that should be the end of it. If not he can opt to change the court date so he can hire a lawyer. There are a ton of ways to go about this with out hiring a lawyer off the bat, it would be my last resort.

 

Honestly, best option is to pretend to be on there side, tell them your not interested in fighting them, but rather working to fix a misinterpretation of the law.

 

In all honesty, they probably went back to the station looked up the law and... , so the charges may very well already be on there way to being dropped.

[Anselmo 87]

I'm with vlad on this one, i would try and do most of it myself in this type of situation. However, i wouldn't just show up on the day of court to try and explain myself. I would contact the SP, and the Cherry Hill Municipality Chief, possibly arrange an appointment and see what can be done about the charges, possibly contact the prosecutor too. If i was feeling shaky based on the responses from those three, then i would hire a lawyer. It comes down to who your dealing with, if there willing to accept they were wrong drop the charges and everyones happy no need to spend the money on a lawyer, if there gonna play stupid, lawyer up and file counter claims for court and lawyer fees. If i weren't going to hire a lawyer, it would be under one condition only and that would be if i was told on the day of court the charges would be dropped. In all honestly i've paid lawyers to do much less, but that is becuase i knew i had no shot in hell of getting it done myself.

 

Another thing he could do is contact the media, im sure cherry ridge wouldnt like the exposure for being numb nuts.

 

I would not talk to the police. Anything you say can be used against you.

 

You can show up by yourself for your preliminary hearing and ask for dismissal. Bring evidence. A letter from an FFL, proof that the same firearm is for sale in multiple gunshops in NJ. Ask the prosecutor to show what part of the law you broke. You will need to get a lawyer if they won't dismiss.

 

I would get a lawyer or even public defender to start with. fI'd never make it prison.

[PK90 3,573]

I'll testify for a fee. Hell, I know most of the CCPO investigators.

 

Although, it'll never make it that far.