Posted on 05/28/2013 6:19:11 PM PDT by KOZ.
New Jersey: Court Upholds Man Arrested For Visible Gun Case In Car New Jersey appellate court upholds five-year sentence for ex-cop who was driving with his legally owned guns.
Readington TownshipMotorists driving through New Jersey can be subjected to a warrantless search if their luggage is similar in appearance to a gun case, an appellate court ruled last week. The Superior Court's Appellate Division upheld a five year prison sentence against Dustin S. Reininger, a former police officer who was in the process of moving from Maine to Texas when a Readington Township police officer recognized the cases in the back of Reininger's vehicle as the sort that usually carries a rifle.
During the long trip on March 20, 2009, Reininger became tired and decided to pull off the road in an empty, well-lit parking lot. He stopped his green Toyota SUV, turned off his lights, and went to sleep in the driver's seat under a blanket. At 3:25am, Officer Gregory Wester knocked on his window and woke him up, shining a flashlight in his eyes. Officer Wester testified that Reininger appeared "nervous and tired." The policeman asked Reininger whether he was carrying anything illegal.
"No, no, all good," Reininger replied.
Reininger believes he was targeted because of his Texas license plates. Officer Wester then looked inside the SUV with his flashlight noticed two nylon cases in the back seat. Once backup arrived, Officer Wester asked for consent to search the vehicle, but Reininger said no. Officer Wester then opened up the vehicle to search the cases "for safety reasons" any way. Reininger was arrested.
After obtaining a warrant, police recovered fourteen rifles, four shotguns and three handguns, including a loaded Glock. A grand juror had asked the prosecutor whether this man would have been charged if he had used a different case.
"Basically, if someone is moving... from Residence A to Residence B, or transporting, say, for example, they just purchased it, so they can transport it to their home, if they are properly secured, locked in a trunk, locked in a special lockbox and unloaded, then that would most likely provide an exception to these requirements, and therefore a defense to being charged," prosecutor Bennett Barlyn explained.
Reininger's SUV did not have a trunk, and state law only requires the firearm be in a "closed and fastened case" or "securely tied package" while transported. His attorney argued the zippered cases satisfied this requirement.
A jury acquitted him of the charges for possession of the "assault firearms" and handgun possession but convicted him in absentia of illegal possession of hollow-point bullets, shotguns, rifles and a high-capacity magazine. He was apprehended in Texas and extradited to New Jersey.
"What I don't understand is I am a citizen without a criminal history who has served this country not only in the military but as a volunteer to my community and as a police officer, not even making hardly any income at all, and I would have given my life to protect another person and for this country," Reininger said in a statement. "How can I be convicted for exercising my right? When does it become a crime for exercising one's right?"
The three-judge appellate panel insisted New Jersey's gun control laws do not violate the constitutional right to keep and bear arms, citing the Supreme Court's recent Heller decision.
"The Second Amendment does not create 'a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever purpose,'" Judge Ronald B. Graves wrote for the panel. "Furthermore, the Second Amendment does not preclude the state from regulating the manner in which accessories must be transported."
The court also upheld the warrantless search of Reininger's vehicle.
"Based on the outward appearance of the nylon cases, Wester reasonably believed they contained rifles or shotguns that were easily accessible to defendant," Judge Graves wrote. "In our view, however, the warrantless seizure was not necessary for the officers' safety, because defendant had been removed from the vehicle and there were multiple backup officers at the scene. Nevertheless, we conclude the limited seizure was valid under the plain view exception to the search warrant requirement."
A copy of the decision is available in a 170k PDF file at the source link below.
Source: PDF File New Jersey v. Reininger (New Jersey Superior Court, Appellate Division, 5/20/2013)
“States that adhere to the 2nd amendment should refuse to extradite anyone to a state that does not adhere to the 2nd amendment if supposed violation of a gun law of any kind is involved.”
I agree. This is like extraditing a Bible smuggler to Saudi Arabia.
They obviously want you to go hunting with FMJ in a handgun. Rifles and shotguns are apparently verboten.
Anyone else believe that we are becoming two Americas? One that values freedom and one that values government control of everything.
The problem is that the Federal Gov will side with the weak gun State and bring all of its weight on the strong gun state, and in this instance the fellow screwed himself by breaking Tx law.
If we round up illegals here in Tx, the fed lets them go.
If we bow up, they slam us by withholding money.
We generally say screw them as far as funding, but we can’t just get the state of Tx sued to oblivion by the feds.
You pick you battles.
Sadly this guy got himself cut loose by breaking laws in Tx.
And as evidenced by the results of the 2012 election the side that values government control of everything is in the majority.
This guy was a fool to blow off going to court.
He should have contacted SAF, GOA and the NRA.
None of it violated Louisiana law either. In La. you can expect a good amount of vehicles on the road have weapons in them.
I’ve got a close friend in NJ. He is tied financially to the place but is looking for an exit strategy as fast as he can. It is nuts what constitutes “law” in that God forsaken place.
Think this through; New Jersey -> Mob -> Violin case. Problem solved.
I won’t even cross NJ, and MD makes me worry about what I take to visit my own kin.
Here is where he effed up again..
“In Texas, Reininger was charged with failure to identify and intent to give false information to law enforcement officers. He will be prosecuted on those charges first then sent back to Hunterdon for sentencing on the gun charges, according to the blog. Reininger will also face other charges here for being a fugitive and for jumping bail”
What scares the **** out of me is 922 laws.
They are so complex.
Of course they are ridiculous.
Who could know that having the wrong wood or pistol grip on a rifle could get you 5 years?
But you can not just walk away from this stuff.
It is on the books.
You have to fight them in court and show that it is arbitrary and capricious.
Imagine.. the feds say if you have a Russian pistol grip you can get 5 years, but if it is made in the USA you are clean.
That is arbitrary and capricious.
I have been assured that those laws are only used to “tack on time” to folks that commit gun crimes, but it makes me uneasy.
The laws are so convoluted that they can make any man a criminal.
And it is not just gun laws.
Common law is becoming unfathomable.
Family law.
Corporate law.
NO NEW LAWS!
Maine? I live in Maine and Maine is one of the most pro-2nd Amendment states on the East Coast. People in Maine, especially the rural areas, are armed to the teeth. Ditto, New Hampshire.
Amen.
I’m glad I live in backward WV, and not enlightened NJ. This is very bad.
gun case??
weird
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