By: Najla Alexander
Authorities in Atlantic County announced that on Tuesday, October 29, Christopher Jones, 43, of Atlantic City, entered an open guilty plea to second-degree unlawful possession of a handgun.
Pleasantville police said the defendant faces a potential maximum sentence of 10 years in State prison, with a five-year mandatory period of parole ineligibility.
According to Atlantic County officials, on April 3, 2022, Pleasantville Police responded to the Pleasant Acres Apartment Complex for reports of a man with a gun in a black Chevrolet Impala with tinted windows.
Police stopped a car that matched the description at that location, county authorities stated. The defendant was a passenger in the car and had a loaded revolver in a crossbody bag he was wearing across his torso.
The defendant is legally ineligible from obtaining a New Jersey firearms permit, officials say. 
Atlantic County officials said the defendant decided to plead guilty on the first day of trial after the assistant prosecutor's opening statement and before any evidence was presented to the jury.
The defendant will be sentenced by the Honorable Pamela D'Arcy, J.S.C., on March 12, 2025, officials stated.