Mr. Oliver, one of the firms founding partners, represented a client that was arrested and charged with among other things possession of a handgun and possession of hallow point bullets. The charges stemmed from a motor vehicle stop where it was alleged that the client was speeding. Since the client was from out of state the officers began questioning him with regards to where he was coming from and heading too. During the questioning, the client admitted that located inside his vehicle was a handgun. As a result of his admissions, the Defendant was removed from his vehicle and a search was conducted. The search revealed a 9mm handgun and to make matters worse, the gun was determined to be loaded with hallow point bullets.
Based on their findings, the client was charged with an individual who was charged with the unlawful possession of a weapon, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5b which is a crime of the second degree and possession of hallow nose bullets, in violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:39-3f, which is a crime of the fourth degree. The handgun charge falls under the Graves Act in New Jersey. The Graves Act in essence requires a Defendant to serve not only a mandatory term of incarceration but the term must also be subject to a parole ineligibility period as well. So at a minimum, the Defendant was facing five (5) years in prison with a forty-two parole ineligibility period.
Upon reviewing the discovery, Mr. Oliver quickly determined that the underlying facts surrounding the case fell outside the legislative intent of the Graves Act. The main purpose behind the imposition of the Graves Act was to try and curb gang violence. In doing so, they initiated extremely harsh penalties for anyone caught illegally possessing a firearm in New Jersey. Based on the facts of the case, Mr. Oliver drafted a Graves Act Waiver. The Graves Act Waiver is to seek to establish that the particular facts of the case fall outside the legislative intent of the Graves Act. If granted, a Defendant could have the jail term either reduce or eliminated altogether.
Mr. Oliver was able to secure a full Graves Act Waiver for the client. As a result the client was able to gain acceptance into the pretrial intervention program (“PTI”). PTI is a diversionary program in New Jersey whereby if the Defendant complete all of the terms imposed the then pending criminal charges will be dismissed outright. So in this case, the client went from facing a mandatory incarceration period to being able to walk away from this incident without a criminal record let alone without serving a day in jail.
Gun Lawyers in Mercer County NJ
If you have been charged with a robbery, a burglary, a heroin distribution or a gun offense in Mercer County, the Keith Oliver Criminal Law can help. These are all very serious charges and should not be taken lightly. Graves Act Waivers are very difficult to obtain in New Jersey. If you would like to speak to Mr. Oliver or one of the other Mercer County criminal defense lawyers on staff at our office then please contact us at (609) 789-0779. We appear in courts throughout Mercer County, including courts in towns like Hamilton, Ewing, Trenton, Lawrence, Robbinsville, West Windsor and East Windsor.
State v. B.N.
