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Guyanese man arrested with shotgun he wanted to ship home
Jersey City, US (nj.com) -A Pennsylvania man arrested after carrying a shotgun in his truck this weekend
Arrested: Marlon Murphy
near the Holland Tunnel told The Jersey Journal he thought he was transporting the weapon legally.
Marlon Murphy, 45, of Easton, appeared in Central Judicial Processing Court on the charge of unlawful possession of a weapon on Monday after spending Saturday night in jail.
Police stopped Murphy just beyond the tunnel’s toll plaza at around 6:30 p.m. Saturday to make sure he was not carrying any hazardous materials inside a blue drum in the back of his pickup truck. But Murphy was arrested after telling police he had a shotgun and ammunition inside the drum, Port Authority police said.
“It was in pieces,” Murphy said of his Mossberg 12-gauge shotgun. “It was separate and the ammo was in there, too.”
Murphy said he was bringing the barrel to New York, where he was shipping it home to his family in Guyana, along with food and clothing. Murphy said he was planning a vacation back to the South American country, which is why he was shipping the items.
“I’m a hunter and (a) gold miner by profession,” Murphy said. “That (gun) is basically for hunting to provide food and protection in the gold mine, the jungle.”
In New Jersey, a permit is not required to transport a shotgun, according to State Police Trooper Lawrence Peele, a police spokesman. However, the gun and ammunition must be stored separately in containers inside the vehicle, Peele said, adding that anyone transporting a weapon for hunting must carry a valid hunting licence.
The State Police’s website links to a Cornell Law page that states that interstate transport is allowed as long as the transporter is bringing the gun to a place where he or she can ”lawfully possess and carry such firearm.”
The barrel in which the items were being transported.
Meanwhile, federal law requires that unloaded weapons are transported inside a locked box separate from the glove box and inaccessible to the driver and passenger, according to Michael Wilson of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives field office in Woodland Park.
Wilson added that federal law prohibits fugitives from justice from transporting firearms.
Monday in court, when Murphy was asked if he believed he should have been arrested he said “no.”
“Everybody, all my friends in Pennsylvania told me that you don’t need a permit because you’re shipping it back to your country,” Murphy said.
According to the ATF’s website, an owner can ship a gun to themselves in another state as long as “he or she intends to hunt or engage in any other lawful activity” within that state. International regulations were not posted.
Murphy said he purchased the shotgun in Pennsylvania. In a Pennlive.com report, Pennsylvania State Trooper Adam Reed said a shotgun can be purchased through private sellers, without the buyer having to undergo a background check.
Police recovered this shotgun and nearly 200 rounds of ammunition after a traffic stop (Port Authority photos)
Murphy hopes the charges against him are eventually dropped. He said he had to pay $3,000 cash to get out of jail Sunday and he does not have the money to pay a lawyer to represent him. He said he has not even used the gun because he has not obtained his firearm or hunting permit.
Port Authority spokesman Joe Pentangelo said the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office determined probable cause for the charge, although Murphy’s criminal complaint does not state what the probable cause of the arrest was.
A spokesman for the HCPO has not yet returned a request for comment on the case.
Murphy said he was told by police everything but the gun will be returned to him. Unlawful possession of a shotgun is a third degree offence under state law.
“I’m nervous,” Murphy said.
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