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WE BROKE THIS STORY & NOW IT'S GOING VIRAL!  In case you haven't seen it yet, here it is:

I.E.D. DIDN'T DESTROY HIS LIFE, NJ GUN LAW WILL!
NJ MARINE FACING 36 MO. FOR 2 HI-CAP MAGS!
by Black Wire Media Friday Oct. 25, 2019 www.cnjfo.com/join-us

BREAKING! Marine Mike Harky gave 8 years of his life protecting his country. An I.E.D. explosion medically retired him from the Marine Corps. The Amphibious Vehicle (AMTRAK) driver and Waldwick, NJ businessman came home with a Purple Heart and everything he was issued except for his rifle & gas mask. These souvenirs were sent home in Harky's footlocker, which had remained closed for years until an incident this past February brought about by a child custody dispute unfolded. A T.R.O. (Temporary Restraining Order) was issued and the Waldwick Police visited the Harky residence, asking as they always do about weapons in the dwelling. It was then that the footlocker was opened and the magazines were seized along with other property. The T.R.O. was nullified at Family Court in February, at the conclusion of the custody battle, shortly after the seizure incident.

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During a subsequent search by Police, a shotgun stored in his attic, his Marine dress sword and 10 assorted collector knives were seized along with (2) standard capacity 30-round magazines the Marines issued to him that he forgot were stowed away in his footlocker. Harky doesn't own a rifle OR the ammo for the magazines. They're just punched-out pieces of metal that contain a spring, a follower and some sand dust.
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Fast forward to September 19th's consent order from the Family Court awarding 50% custody to each parent of the couple's 8 year old son, a heart transplant patient. The consent order stated he needed to apply for & pass a background check for a NJFPID card in order to get his shotgun, sword & knives returned. In going through the seized items in September, Waldwick PD then found the (2) 30-round standard issue magazines for the Marine's M-4 duty rifle that he doesn't have, at which time he was placed under arrest & spent two days in Bergen County Jail!

Harky, now remarried (see photo), has a November 15th Court date at Bergen County Superior Court in Hackensack. Harky, worried the state is trying to make him an "Example" for NJ's new Hi-Cap MAG BAN that puts you AWAY for 18 MONTHS per magazine, then wrote a Facebook post on Tuesday Oct. 23rd, which is now going viral! Fellow 2A supporters recommended he get attorney Evan Nappen to represent him in this matter, and as of last Wednesday evening, Nappen is under a retainer contract. We interviewed Harky earlier this afternoon (10-25) for this exclusive story!

No formal fundraising effort is yet underway and this construction company owner that employs 12 full-time employees now faces a dire future. Any help sharing this Marine Hero's fateful journey through the meatgrinder that is the NJ Court system will be greatly appreciated!

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If someone doesn't own a non-exempt rifle the mags are legal, no? 

There are bolt guns that take the mags and they are legal in those as long as a non-exempt firearm (AR type being one) is not present in the home.  That is my understanding.

Am I mis-understanding?  

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Rosie, how can I help with this currently?

Would contacting Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella and asking him to drop the magazine charges help?:

Bergen County Prosecutor's Office

Two Bergen County Plaza

Hackensak, NJ 07601

https://www.facebook.com/BCPONJ/

https://twitter.com/BCPONJ

23 minutes ago, Bully said:

If someone doesn't own a non-exempt rifle the mags are legal, no? 

There are bolt guns that take the mags and they are legal in those as long as a non-exempt firearm (AR type being one) is not present in the home.  That is my understanding.

Am I mis-understanding?  

If the magazines are >10 rd capacity and can be used in a semi-auto firearm then they're illegal according to NJ law, regardless if the possessor has a semi-auto firearm that can use them or not.

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11 minutes ago, DirtyDigz said:

If the magazines are >10 rd capacity and can be used in a semi-auto rifle then they're illegal according to NJ law, regardless if the possessor has a semi-auto rifle that can use them or not.

Thank you for the clarification.  I've been wrong before and will be again.  

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1 hour ago, Bully said:

Thank you for the clarification.  I've been wrong before and will be again.  

When the new law was written & signed in June of 2018, those little loopholes will filled.  1st week of December mags over 10 rounds became suppositories.  Couldn't sell, transport, turn-in or give away.  Couldn't destroy the EVIDENCE either.  You're guilty and need to shove them where the sun don't shine!  :) 

My brother passed 11 years ago.  I found an ammo can my sister in-law gave me when she "sold" me his Para P-14 2011 "Fat Bottom Girl".  Way down at the bottom of this .50 cal metal ammo can were Glock mags over 10 rounds.  I never knew I had them.  They're now at my son's house in PA.  He transported 31 mags x 18 months EACH = 46.5 YEARS worth of TIME!

 

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1 hour ago, DirtyDigz said:

Rosie, how can I help with this currently?

Would contacting Bergen County Prosecutor Mark Musella and asking him to drop the magazine charges help?:

Bergen County Prosecutor's Office

Two Bergen County Plaza

Hackensak, NJ 07601

https://www.facebook.com/BCPONJ/

https://twitter.com/BCPONJ

If the magazines are >10 rd capacity and can be used in a semi-auto firearm then they're illegal according to NJ law, regardless if the possessor has a semi-auto firearm that can use them or not.

Yes, please do that & see what they say!  Then tell me here!

Maybe we should post their contact info as a follow-up so folks all over the country can burn-up their comms pathways!?

~R

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23 minutes ago, SW9racer said:

A fid and background check is needed for a knife?  Why do you people still live there?

His sword and knives do NOT require a FPID card or background check.  Also, the return of HIS shotgun does NOT require a FPID!

His shotgun was not transferred to another person, it was temporarily seized and should be returned with no questions and no requirements!  

My Brother-in Law had several guns, including a handgun seized when his ex wife said he verbally abused her!  A few months later and the charges dropped, he got all his guns back from the Prosecutor's office with no questions asked! He never had a NJFID and still does not have one now!

I call BS on the Family Court's FPID consent order.  The Family Court can't change NJ gun laws to suit their needs!:mad:

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1 hour ago, JohnnyB said:

...I call BS on the Family Court's FPID consent order.  The Family Court can't change NJ gun laws to suit their needs!:mad:

But Johnny,

this is The Glorious Peoples Republik of New Jerseystan, where JUDGES can do whatever thefucktheywantto.

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Ok, someone (perhaps it's the Waldwick Police) has the story wrong.  Waiting for more clarity before acting:

https://local.nixle.com/alert/7620854/

My emphasis added:

Quote

Waldwick Police Department
October 31, 2019 Press Release
 
On February 16, 2019, The Waldwick Police Department received a Domestic Violence Temporary Restraining Order that was granted by the Bergen County Superior Court. This order mandated that the officers of the Waldwick Police Department serve this restraining order on Michael Harkin. A section of this restraining order required officers to lawfully search and seize any weapons, his Firearms ID card and any Pistol Permits in his possession. Mr. Harkin was noncompliant with the Judicial Order prohibiting him to possess any weapons or documents. Mr. Harkin informed officers that he would not comply with the order.
           
Due to Mr. Harkin’s non-compliance with a lawfully issued Domestic Violence Temporary Restraining Order, officers were required to search for, and to seize, weapons for safekeeping as directed by the restraining order. Officers seized the weapons and the weapons were secured at the Waldwick Police Department.  As part of the search for the weapons, officers located two high capacity rifle magazines. These magazines were seized as part of the search warrant issued by the domestic violence restraining order.

Mr. Harkin was arrested and charged with 2C:29-9A, Contempt, by knowingly disobeying a judicial order. This charge was downgraded and disposed of on March 14, 2019. Mr. Harkin was not charged with possessing the high capacity magazines or with any other criminal violations relating to this incident.  Mr. Harkin is scheduled for a civil action hearing on November 15, 2019 to determine if the property seized by the Waldwick Police Department can be returned. This is not a criminal proceeding.

 

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1 hour ago, DirtyDigz said:

Ok, someone (perhaps it's the Waldwick Police) has the story wrong.  Waiting for more clarity before acting:

https://local.nixle.com/alert/7620854/

My emphasis added:

 

Doug,

Just hit me up on a PM for a phone call so I can explain what's going on.  I can't publish EVERYTHING :) 

Here's a tidbit:
The Marine's family lawyer was sent an email on 10-22-19 stating that the Sgt. on scene during the search & seizure in February was set to testify on Nov. 15th, IN ADDITION TO an Expert witness on the identification of the (2) 30-round mags.  So a chain of evidence testimony along with an Expert saying the mags are illegal...  So what's to stop the Bergen Co. Prosecutor from stopping the proceeding right then & there and placing Mike under arrest for the mags?  Why email a witness list to a defense attorney if everything was hunky-dory?  

His initial arrest was for alleged DV back in February.  That's when he didn't comply with the search.  That's when the mags were found in the footlocker.  That's the error in the timeline in the original story that the Marine didn't tell me about.  The TRO was dropped when 50% custody was awarded to his Ex-Wife.  The 8 year old is a heart transplant survivor.  I interviewed Harkin for almost an hour.  He read the story & approved it.  

Harkin went public the day after his family attorney got the email about the witness list.  That was 10-23.  I interviewed him 2 full days later on the 25th.  Waldwick is in "Damage Control" mode.  Harkin is very upset & nervous, and although he mixed-up the timeline during the interview a little bit (he was arrested in February, not September), he's still a victim of NJ's gun laws.  They still have his shotgun.  And he's still going thru the NJ meat grinder.

I can only publish what was told to me.  If I was the Asbury Park Press I could have slanted the entire story, called the mags acc's for an Assault Weapon, and gotten more than 50% of the story wrong :) 

 

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2 hours ago, DirtyDigz said:

Heya Rosey, I'll PM you my #, but no call necessary if we can answer this simple question:

Is Mr. Harkin currently charged with possession of "high-capacity" magazines?

Not that I'm aware of as of last Friday.  This of course could change at a moment's notice.  I was originally led to believe he WAS since that's the basis of his original Facebook post...

I will say that I wrote the original story and then asked Mr. Harkin to proofread it for errors, which he did.  On the 25th it was GTG.  Subsequently, the timeline was corrected.  I didn't alter the original story because I have to maintain integrity.  I reported what was said to me, and the subject of the story proofread it for errors. 

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