Morristown NJ Handgun Possession Defense Lawyer
Travis J. Tormey of the Tormey Law Firm recently represented a client who was charged with unlawful possession of a weapon, a second degree crime in New Jersey.
The client was a professional bodyguard for a famous rap artist on tour in the Tri-state area. The client had a lawful permit for his firearm in the State of Georgia where he resides; however, he did not have a valid firearms ID card for the State of New Jersey. The gun was found locked in a gun box on the rapper’s tour bus. There is a valid exception to the unlawful possession if you are transporting firearms through New Jersey from another state, but the gun must be locked in a lockbox separate from the ammunition and it must be kept in the trunk. Unfortunately, this was not the case here, so the exception did not apply.
The initial plea offer by the prosecutor was state prison in exchange for pleading guilty to a felony. Accepting this plea offer would have ended our client’s career as a professional bodyguard. Because of the Graves Act, the statute that governs gun offenses in New Jersey, the typical plea offer on a gun case even if you have no prior record is five (5) years in NJ State Prison, three (3) years of which must be served before the possibility of parole. After months of negotiation, Mr. Tormey was able to convince the prosecutor’s office to allow our client into the Pre-Trial Intervention Program. As a result, all of the charges are scheduled to be dismissed at the end of the probationary period. This will allow Mr. Tormey’s client to not only stay out of jail but also to avoid a felony record. This case represented a major success for the Tormey Law Firm.