Acting Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin today announced the indictment of a Middlesex County man after an investigation by the New Jersey State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives led to the seizure of five handguns and an assault rifle transported to New Jersey from Georgia allegedly for unlawful sale.
According to Acting Attorney General Platkin, Barrett R. Griffin, III, 33, of North Brunswick, was indicted on charges of Unlawful Possession of an Assault Firearm, Unlawful Possession of a Firearm, Transporting Firearms into the State for Unlawful Sale, Certain Persons Not to Possess a Firearm and Unlawful Possession of Large Capacity Ammunition Magazines.
The indictment, handed up by a State Grand Jury on May 6, alleges that between February 5, and February 7, Griffin illegally transported handguns from Georgia to New Jersey for unlawful sale.
“As gun violence continues to disrupt the peace of communities throughout New Jersey, the importance of keeping illegal guns from crossing our borders cannot be overstated,” said Acting Attorney General Platkin.
“This indictment sends a clear message that anyone caught trafficking weapons into our State will face serious consequences.”
“Together with our law enforcement partners in New Jersey and beyond, we are working diligently to identify and bring to justice individuals transporting illegal guns into New Jersey,” said Director Lyndsay V. Ruotolo of the Division of Criminal Justice.
“When we seize illegal firearms before they enter the criminal marketplace, we prevent crime and suffering.”
The indictment was obtained by the Division of Criminal Justice (DCJ) Gangs & Organized Crime Bureau following an investigation by NJSP and the ATF.
During the course of the investigation, a motor vehicle stop was made on the car Griffin was driving on the New Jersey Turnpike in Mount Laurel on February 7.
Following a search of the vehicle, detectives seized five handguns, one assault rifle, and four large-capacity ammunition magazines from the vehicle’s trunk.
Griffin was ordered detained pending trial and is being held in the Burlington County Jail.