Mother Facing 10 Years For Having A Licensed Gun, Where’s Chris Christie Now?

By Jeff Knox

Shaneen Allen
Shaneen Allen is Facing 10 Years For Having A Licensed Gun, Where’s Chris Christie Now?
FirearmsCoalition.org
FirearmsCoalition.org

Buckeye, AZ –-(Ammoland.com)- New Jersey’s gun laws – the same types of laws Mike Bloomberg and his ilk want to see adopted nationwide – are outrageous and unjust.

They destroy the lives of innocent people while doing nothing to reduce crime.

Case in point: Shaneen Allen, single mother of two, healthcare worker trying hard to provide for her family in Philadelphia.

She was working two jobs, often pulling late shifts and odd hours. She had been robbed twice in the past year, and a family member encouraged her to get a gun for protection. She went through a firearms training class, passed a background check, and was issued a license to carry a firearm by the Pennsylvania State Police.

About a week after acquiring a firearm, Shaneen was pulled over for a minor traffic violation. As she had been instructed in her licensing class, she immediately informed the officer that she had a license and a handgun with her.

Unfortunately for Shaneen, she was on the New Jersey side of the river at the time, and her Pennsylvania license is not recognized in New Jersey.

Shaneen spent over a month in a New Jersey county jail and is now facing up to ten years in prison, with a mandatory minimum sentence of at least three years, along with a felony conviction on her record.

If she is convicted or pleads guilty, the judge will have little choice regarding her sentence, he will be required by law to sentence her to at least three years or more.

A legal defense fund has been set up to assist Shaneen Allen in her struggle for survival.  Information about it can be found on the Shaneen Allen Legal Defense Fund page on Facebook.

County prosecutors in New Jersey however, have quite a bit of leeway in deciding how to handle cases like this, and until recently, the official policy of the Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office was to offer people like Shaneen something they call Pre-Trial Intervention, or PTI.  In other states this is often referred to as Deferred Prosecution.  Under PTI, the accused is placed on probation for a year or two, and if they “keep their nose clean“, the charges simply go away and their records cleared.

The objective of PTI is to avoid tying up the courts and detention facilities with cases and people that really don’t belong there.  Shaneen Allen is a perfect example of someone who would, and should, be offered PTI.

Shaneen’s bad luck continued however, because the Atlantic County Prosecutor had recently resigned and the office was taken over by an Acting County Prosecutor from the NJ Attorney General’s Office.  This prosecutor rejected a PTI request from Shaneen’s Public Defender.  As a last hope, Shaneen Allen made the smart decision to hire Evan Nappen, an attorney with extensive experience with New Jersey’s complex and dangerous gun control system.  Nappen immediately filed an appeal of the prosecutor’s denial of PTI, and also filed a motion for dismissal based on a “firearms amnesty” that was in effect when Shaneen was arrested.  The state legislature had declared a 90-day amnesty window during which unlawful possession of a firearm was not unlawful.

Somehow the arresting officer, the prosecutor, the judge, and the public defender were all unaware of this amnesty period.

As of this writing, Shaneen Allen is out on bail, and the judge has ordered a delay while he reviews Nappen’s motions, but Allen’s future, and the futures of her two young sons, is still very much in question.

Governor Chris Christie could settle those questions with the stroke of a pin or a phone call to one of his subordinates.  The prosecutor works for the Attorney General, and the AG works for the Governor.  In this case, the buck stops squarely on the desk of Chris Christie, but Christie has not weighed in; possibly because he hasn’t heard from enough angry citizens.  The Firearms Coalition is encouraging anyone concerned about this travesty of justice to contact the Governor to demand that he put a stop to this abuse of power and intransigence coming from his subordinates in the AG’s office.

Governor Christie can be reached by phone at 609-292-6000 or by email through his office contact page by clicking here.

Brian Aitken
Brian Aitken was sentenced to 7 years in New Jersey State prison.

While Shaneen Allen’s case is particularly unsettling, it is by no means an isolated incident.  Nappen says Allen’s is only one of a half-dozen such cases he’s currently involved in.  We recently reported on another case in which a man moving across country pulled over in a strip-mall parking lot late one night to catch a quick nap before continuing on his journey.  Had he stopped 20 miles farther down the road, he would have been safe in Pennsylvania, but because he stopped on the New Jersey side of the line, he too had a minimum three years in prison thrown at him.  Then there’s the case of Brian Aitken, a young man who moved from Colorado back home to New Jersey to be closer to his young son.  A minor misunderstanding led to police contact, and among the carload of belongings, his three, legally owned handguns were found, unloaded and locked in the trunk.  In spite of provisions under both state and federal law protecting the safe transport of firearms during a move, Aitken was convicted of illegal possession and sentenced to 7 years in prison.  Under heavy pressure from gun groups, Christie commuted Aitken’s sentence, letting him out of jail, but leaving the felony conviction on his record.  Aitken is appealing that conviction.

New Jersey’s gun laws are the exact sort of lunacy the Bradys, Bloomberg, and Obama believe should be foisted on all Americans; destroying the lives and careers of the innocent while creating little more than a minor inconvenience for criminals.  As governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie has done little to bring sanity to his state’s laws or to the way they are enforced.  He has the power to make a difference, but has chosen not to.

Any talk of Christie as a viable candidate for President is ridiculous in the face of his lack of action to protect gun owners from the meat grinder that is New Jersey’s gun laws.

About:
The Firearms Coalition is a loose-knit coalition of individual Second Amendment activists, clubs and civil rights organizations. Founded by Neal Knox in 1984, the organization provides support to grassroots activists in the form of education, analysis of current issues, and with a historical perspective of the gun rights movement. The Firearms Coalition is a project of Neal Knox Associates, Manassas, VA. Visit: www.FirearmsCoalition.org

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Alan

Re that “informing the officer” bit in the training course the lady took, who exactly was the idiot who put that bit in? Hadn’t they ever heard the old saw about people sounding more intelligent with their mouths shut, than with them open?

Drik

Jury nullification time.
America’s last defense against tyrrany.

RDNK

I wonder why they told this woman she “had” to tell the cop she had a weapon in her car ! I think that is very bad advice ! It sure as hell didn’t get her anywhere ! Sometimes honesty just aint the best policy !

RDNK

I agree that this woman should had known the gun laws in nj (although unconstitutional as hell) But blubber butt christie through the AG could have these ridiculous charges dismissed if he wanted,..he dont !

Anonymous

I can’t believe he was spouting conservative ideals and he does nothing about this. His shameful puppy dog following of Obama during Sandy and now this, he doesn’t have a chance at a presidential run unless he switches parties.

Eric

Permits are for states that violate your right to bear arms and defend yourself. Dont be misled that permits are not an infringement I lived in NY . I am now free in Alaska , with no permit open or concealed carry . No worries of stupid imprint showing charging you with bandishing a weapon.
Self defense you should know what right and wrong is.

Anonymous Patriot

While I am certainly not going to argue Christie is a real conservative, or that ridiculous gun laws are worth a damn. BUT…. Part of having a license to carry involves knowing where you CAN and CAN NOT carry. Knowing what states recognize and which do not. I agree that this is ultimately stupid and if common sense were really allowed to prevail this never would have happened. How many criminals get pulled over by police and A) tell them they have a gun and B) posses the legal government license to have and carry one? Obviously this woman is… Read more »

don

I vote to protect my gun rights, I vote every election and I will not support Christie becaue of New Jersey’s draconian anti gun laws.

Dale Parker

When slob Christie hugged obama some of the stupidity rubbed off on him. President? NO WAY!!!!!

Bob Shell

This is what happens to innocent people who live in a commie cesspool with a anti-gun governor. It would serve no puropse to put her in prison while gan bangers are running free. This is what happens when you have a currupt state run by currupt politicions.

John Sims

Hello from Canada, I am shocked to see what is happening in the USA. The idiots who brought in this BS law are the ones who should be in jail.
I would like to know how the people in the United States can say “THE LAND OF THE FREE” If the government goes against your constitution, in this case the second amendment, they all should be charged with a huge crime.
I feel for you guys, and remember we have huge problems with Government and police over gun matters.
Best regards,
John

Joe

This woman should be released(no jail time) It seems that if you are doing your best and make a mistake(going to New Jersey) the law only gets worse.Now,if she had a record ,she would probably go free!!!!!!!!!!!!!

DrSique

Christie is a liberal progressive republican or, what many would call a RINO. Unfortunately, this type of republican is a majority in the party, rather than a minority. Being a liberal, from a liberal state, he is fundamentally unaware of how seriously 90 million firearm owners are about their rights guaranteed under the 2A. This young mother is merely paying the tab for liberalism run amok and a complete lack of common sense. The case should be thrown out, along with the ridiculous law that got her arrested for exercising her God given/natural right to defend herself and her family.… Read more »

Bpjsurf

The issue at hand here is bad firearms policy , makes for bad firearms laws and the result is good citizens are ensnared by these laws with no real world recourse. Christie were he a person of true republican values would be working expeditiously to change the policy and the laws related to firearms. Instead the crony’s (democrats) in NJ parade a bad law before the Governor so he can pretend he is a republican and veto the law. Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina please for all that is good in this world HOLD THE LINE. Do not buy into… Read more »

D. Murphy

A perfect example of democratic statist government…if you want this type of police state keep voteing democratic. Holder, Obama and the whole democratic party would love nothing less than this style of “justice” for the whole country.

Herb

Keep voting for democrats and it will get worse. Tough shit for Shaneen – maybe Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton will come to the rescue. Believe that?

TEX

Christie,all 400+ lbs of the fat slob will never be president !