Officers with the Long Branch Police Department arrested four men for weapons offenses after reportedly overhearing the suspects talk about committing a shooting.
According to Long Branch authorities, law enforcement received a call about a loud noise coming from an apartment in a complex on Jackson Street in Long Branch, New Jersey. When a Long Branch police officer arrived at the building and went up the stairs on his way to the second-floor apartment, he allegedly heard various sounds coming from the apartment. The officer reportedly heard a rifle in the process of being racked back and forth, as well as multiple people inside the apartment discussing the possibility of “doing a shooting.”
When the police officer got to the door of the apartment, he was reportedly able to see through a crack in the door and observed the occupants of the residence handing around a rifle. The Long Branch NJ officer also allegedly overheard the suspects providing instructions on how to avoid leaving fingerprints on the gun.
The police officer then called for backup assistance, prompting other Long Branch NJ patrol cops to go to the residence. The officers soon arrived at the apartment, resulting in a brief standoff between police and the suspects. The suspects were eventually taken out of the apartment and placed under arrest.
A subsequent search of the apartment by Long Branch police allegedly turned up a cache of weapons, including various firearms and multiple sawed-off shotguns. The firearms that were seized by police reportedly included a Maverick 9mm handgun, a Smith & Wesson 357 revolver, a sawed-off American Eagle .22-caliber rifle, and a sawed-off Savage Arms 12-gauge shotgun. Police also allegedly seized a bulletproof vest and a large quantity of illegal ammunition.
The suspects, all of whom are between the ages of 20 and 25 and live in Long Branch, NJ, have been charged with multiple weapons offenses, including illegal possession of a handgun, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, possession of prohibited weapons, and possession of body armor-piercing bullets.
Additionally, the suspects were charged with simple possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia because police allegedly found them with illegal drugs.
After being arrested and processed, the suspects were remanded to the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in Freehold Township, NJ. They were being held at the jail in lieu of separate $130,000 bail amounts, with no 10-percent cash option available for posting bail.
To learn more about this case, check out the following article: Guns found in apartment after cop hears men talk about ‘doing a shooting’