According to the reports, the Ewing Police Department has arrested and charge three juveniles with a several drug and weapons violations late last week. The charges stemmed from what the officers are claiming was a routine traffic stop. During the initial interaction, the officers on scene claimed that they smelled the scent of marijuana emanating from inside the vehicle. The smell of the marijuana gave the officers the probable cause that they needed to search the motor vehicle.
When the motor vehicle was searched, the officers uncovered a loaded .22 caliber handgun, a pellet gun and what they believed was marijuana. The three juveniles, two from Trenton and one from Ewing, were arrested and charged with the following offenses:
- Unlawful Possession of a Weapon in the second degree,
- Unlawful Possession of a Weapon in the third degree,
- Possession of marijuana under 50 grams.
The most serious charge is the possession of the .22 caliber handgun. This offense by its nature falls under the Graves Act. The Graves Act was instituted initially to curb gang violence. It in essence creates extremely harsh penalties for anyone caught unlawfully possessing a firearm in New Jersey. It not only mandates that anyone convicted of this offense be sentenced to a term of incarceration but it also mandates that a parole ineligibility term be set as well. So, pursuant to the graves act, anyone convicted under this subsection would be facing at a minimum, five years in a State Prison with a forty-two month parole ineligibility period. With that being said, there is a Graves Act Waiver that could be granted. However, in order to do so, a motion must be filed and argued. If the waiver is granted, the parole ineligibility period could be reduced to one year and/or it can be eliminated in its entirety. In addition, it is plausible for a Defendant charged with this type of offense to be accepted into the Pretrial Intervention Program. That is a diversionary program in New Jersey whereby if the Defendant completes the term without violating any of the conditions, the charges will be outright dismissed. Mr. Oliver, one of the firms founding partners has successfully gotten several clients charged with gun offenses into PTI over his career. To speak with Mr. Oliver today about your options please contact us directly at 609-789-0779.
Gun Charges in Ewing NJ
As you can tell from reading above, anyone charged with unlawful possession of a weapon is facing life changing consequences. If you have been arrested and charged with the unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose, certain persons, aggravated assault, robbery or burglary in Mercer County, the criminal defense attorneys at Keith Oliver Criminal Law can help. Our attorneys have been defending clients charged with gun offenses in courts throughout New Jersey for years now. If you would like a free initial consultation with one of our experienced New Jersey criminal lawyers then please contact us at 609-789-0779.
