Two South Carolina men have admitted to trafficking handguns into New Jersey with the intent to sell them in Union County, acting Union County Prosecutor Michael A. Monahan announced Friday.
Officials said 60 year-old Samuel McKenith and 51-year-old Luther Garner, both of South Carolina, each pled guilty to a single count of second-degree transporting firearms into this State for an unlawful sale or transfer before State Superior Court Judge Robert Kirsch on Thursday.
According to Assistant Prosecutor Jeremiah Lenihan, who prosecuted the case, a three-month long investigation, led by the Union County Guns, Gangs, Drugs and Violent Crimes Task Force, culminated in the July 2017 arrests of McKenith and Garner along with the recovery of four semi-automatic handguns.
"Every single unlawful firearm on our streets represents a threat to our citizens and law enforcement officers, and by proactively taking those guns off the streets, we are likely preventing untold tragedies", Acting Prosecutor Monahan stated.
Sentencing in the case is scheduled for July 27th before Judge Kirsch.
Convictions on second-degree violent crimes are commonly punishable by terms ranging from five up to ten years in state prison, carrying with them an 85% period of parole ineligibility under New Jersey's "No Early Release Act".