Bensalem man arrested on gun charges in New Jersey
A 24-year-old Bucks County man was arrested Wednesday morning near the Holland Tunnel in New Jersey after police noticed an ammunition box in plain view in his vehicle, authorities said.
A 24-year-old Bucks County man was arrested Wednesday morning near the Holland Tunnel in New Jersey after police noticed an ammunition box in plain view in his vehicle, authorities said.
About 8:30 a.m., Corey Schrier, of Bensalem, was at the tunnel toll plaza in Jersey City, heading to New York, when a Port Authority police officer spotted a box of bullets on the back seat of Schrier's 2014 silver Mitsubishi SUV, a Port Authority police spokesman said.
Spokesman Joe Pentangelo said the officer asked Schrier why he had bullets in his vehicle and whether he had a weapon inside.
Schrier asked, "What are the gun laws in New Jersey?" Pentangelo said.
Pentangelo said the officer didn't respond to that question, but told Schrier to pull over. Schrier did so, then voluntarily told the officer he had a Beretta 9mm pistol in his glove compartment. The pistol was loaded and two additional magazines were found in the glove box. One of the magazines was loaded, while the other was not, Pentangelo said.
Schrier has a valid license to carry a firearm in Pennsylvania, Pentangelo said, but was "not legally entitled to carry or be in possession of that pistol in New Jersey."
New Jersey has strict limits on how and where weapons can be transported, and doesn't recognize carry permits from other states.
Schrier was arrested without incident at the tunnel toll plaza and charged with possession of a weapon and possession of drug paraphernalia. He could not immediately be reached for comment.
Police also found in his SUV items typically used to smoke marijuana, including a lighter, digital scale and a bong, Pentangelo said.
Schrier was transferred to the Hudson County jail Wednesday afternoon, Pentangelo said. His bail was set at $50,000.
Earlier this year, charges were brought and later dropped against a Delaware County corrections officer who carried a handgun in New Jersey without a permit.
Raymond Hughes, 46, of Brookhaven, told the Associated Press that in January, he and his wife were on their way home from a concert and dinner in Atlantic City when they got in a car crash in Glassboro.
Hughes told Glassboro police he had a handgun under his seat, and officers secured his personal 9mm Glock handgun while he went to the hospital, the AP reported.
He was charged with carrying a weapon without a New Jersey permit, but Gloucester County Prosecutor Sean Dalton later dropped the gun charge, calling it inappropriate.
"In this particular case, Mr. Hughes was the victim of a crime prior to any violation of New Jersey gun law," Dalton told the AP.
215-854-2592
@julieshawphilly