Essex County Attorneys Fight Airsoft Gun Possession Charges

Have you been arrested and charged with possession of an airsoft or BB gun in Essex County? Contact us now for immediate assistance.

Travis Tormey and the criminal defense team at the Tormey Law Firm recently defended a client against very serious criminal charges for unlawful possession of a weapon.

The client was an 18-year-old man who police arrested and charged with illegally possessing an airsoft gun. Some of the mitigating factors in the case included the client’s lack of a prior criminal record and his suffering from developmental and learning disabilities. (In fact, the client attends a special school that provides assistance and care for his physical and mental difficulties.) On the night that the client was arrested, he was found sitting in a vehicle parked outside his friend’s Cedar Grove home. It was actually the client’s friend, a 16-year-old boy, who was in possession of the airsoft gun in the moments preceding the arrest.

Although there is a perception among many people that imitation firearms, like airsoft guns, BB guns, and pellet guns, are harmless, it still remains against the law in New Jersey to possess these imitation firearms without a valid carry permit and/or firearms ID card. The airsoft guns that our client allegedly had on his person at the time of his arrest is the same type of weapon that can typically be purchased at a flea market or a sporting goods store in New Jersey.

When our client was arrested and charged in the case, he knew it was very serious. If convicted on the charges of unlawful possession of a weapon, he could potentially have been sentenced to 3-5 years in New Jersey State Prison.

The client’s father immediately recognized the severity of the situation and contacted Travis J. Tormey to represent his son in the criminal case. The skilled legal team at the Tormey Law Firm LLC quickly got to work gathering evidence and investigating the matter. One of our attorneys talked to the Essex County prosecutor handling the case and convinced them to downgrade the felony charge to disorderly conduct, a petty disorderly persons offense that is handled in Cedar Grove Municipal Court and that carries a more lenient penalties.

Next, the Tormey Law Firm legal team talked to the local municipal prosecutor and the Cedar Grove cop who arrested the client. We explained the unique circumstances of the case and convinced them to dismiss the charges against our client.

Fight BB gun Charges in Essex County, Cedar Grove NJ

This was a huge victory for the Tormey Law Firm and a great outcome for the client. We are now working hard to get the client’s arrest expunged from his permanent record.