Also out of New Jersey, Sgt. Ray Hughes of the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections will no longer face a felony charge for unlawful possession of a firearm. Hughes was out with his wife in Atlantic City, N.J., when their car was struck by a drunk driver. Police who arrived on the scene confiscated the handgun that Hughes says he accidentally left in his car, and later on he was told that he would be prosecuted for a crime. (See Ginny Simone’s exclusive interview with Hughes and his wife here.)
According to the Associated Press, the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office dropped the charge because the firearm was only discovered after the corrections officer had become the victim of a crime. The nightmare that Hughes faced fortunately appears to be over, but the fact that a law enforcement officer ended up in this situation shows how critically New Jersey’s gun laws need to reformed.
