Man busted moving arsenal of guns, ammo through Newark Penn Station
A Florida man accused of transporting suitcases full of guns and ammunition through the New Jersey rail system was indicted on Wednesday, authorities said.
According to prosecutors, a New Jersey Transit police officer patrolling Newark Penn Station noticed an unattended zebra-print suitcase near the Newark subway entrance on Jan. 3 and called for a K9 unit.
Inside that bag was a Girsan Regard MC handgun with a fully loaded 18-round magazine, an AK-47-style rifle with a round in its chamber and multiple loaded magazines, along with an AR-style magazine and four boxes filled with .223 caliber bullets, authorities said.
Train station surveillance video allegedly showed Jeffrey O. Kennerk, 34, leaving that bag behind and carrying a maroon suitcase to an Amtrak ticket window. Cops learned he was headed toward the Trenton Transit Center, where a pair of officers encountered Kennerk and asked to see his ticket.
The suspect showed police a valid transit pass, but it wasn't for the train he was on, prosecutors said. He was told to wait for another train that was arriving in an hour.
While he was waiting, cops in Trenton were notified of 'a person of interest wanted for weapons possession in Newark' and moved in on Kennerk.
Inside the suitcase he was still carrying, police allegedly discovered weapons including an AR-15-style rifle, several handguns and a second rifle with tissue wrapped around its trigger, as well as silencers and loads of ammunition including hollow point bullets.
The second rifle, according to prosecutors, appeared to have been booby-trapped.
'The officer placed the muzzle into the suitcase pointed at the ground and attempted to remove one of the handkerchiefs to render it safe, at which time the firearm discharged without the officer engaging the trigger,' the New Jersey Attorney General's Office claimed in its indictment.
No injuries were reported.
'This defendant allegedly hauled a small arsenal of deadly weapons and ammunition through busy transit stations, and on a train filled with passengers,' according to Attorney General Matthew Platkin. 'If not for the outstanding police work done in this matter, we can only imagine where this defendant and these weapons would have ended up.'
Charges against Kennerk include possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of an assault firearm and aggravated assault. It's unclear what he planned to do with the portable arsenal.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Traffic stop turns into drug arrest
Jun. 13—After a speeding stop turned into a drug search, a 38-year-old Kalispell woman is facing several drug charges in Lincoln County. According to police reports, on July 10, 2024, a Lincoln County Sheriff's deputy stopped a Black 2012 Honda Accord traveling south on U.S. 2, going 60 mph in a 50 mph zone. The driver of the vehicle provided the registration but not a license or insurance. The two women in the car were identified, one of them being Kystal Marie Fuller, who had a warrant out for her arrest. Fuller was arrested, and a K9 unit did a positive sweep of the car. The vehicle was seized, and deputies found suspected fentanyl, a scale, razor, fentanyl pills, a loaded syringe, a meth pipe and meth, drug paraphernalia, another man's wallet, Xanax, suboxone strips, oxycodone pills, Fuller's Venmo card, $367 in cash and two torches. Fuller told police that she found the wallet on the highway and intended to return it to the owner. In the initial appearance in court on May 6, Fuller was charged with criminal possession of drugs with intent to distribute (fentanyl) and criminal possession of a dangerous drug. She faces up to $55,000 in fines and a jail term of up to 45 years, with a minimum of two years. She posted the $50,000.
Yahoo
32 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Police seize drugs, guns, cash during investigation at North Charleston motel
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – North Charleston officers seized drugs, guns, and money during an investigation at a Dorchester Road motel. Detectives with the North Charleston Police Department's narcotics unit and members of the Intelligence-Led Policing Unit executed a search warrant on a room at the Suburban Studios Extended Stay on Wednesday. Inside the room, police found multiple firearms, drugs, and more than $5,000 in cash. Police said the suspect, 43-year-old Jonathan Simmons, is facing 14 charges, including possession of a weapon during a violent crime, trafficking in fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine, as well as possession of firearms and ammunition. According to an incident report, one of the weapons was reported stolen out of Charleston County, and a recovered AR-style weapon had no make, model, or serial number on it. Simmons was taken to the Al Cannon Detention Center. Police said the investigation is ongoing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
ISIS supporter Nasir Tawhedi pleads guilty for planning Election Day terror attack
An Afghan national who had ties to the CIA has pleaded guilty to two federal crimes over his thwarted plot to carry out a terrorism attack last November on Election Day in support of ISIS. Nasir Ahmad Tawhedi, 27, made the plea through a translator on Friday, June 13, in Oklahoma City federal court. A jury trial had been set for next year but Tawhedi waived that right during the hearing. U.S. District Judge Scott Palk will decide his punishment later. The maximum possible prison sentence for the two crimes is 35 years. Tawhedi and his brother-in-law, Abdullah Haji Zada, were arrested Oct. 7, 2024 at a rural Oklahoma location after purchasing two AK-47 rifles and 500 rounds of ammunition, the FBI reported in a court affidavit. The purchase came during a meeting with an undercover FBI employee and two FBI sources. Tawhedi admitted after his arrest that the two bought the guns to commit an attack on Election Day "targeting large gatherings of people," according to the affidavit. Tawhedi said they expected to die in the Nov. 5 attack and be martyrs. Earlier in 2024, Tawhedi used his Google account to access webcams for the White House and Washington Monument, according to the affidavit. Under a deal, Tawhedi pleaded guilty to a felony conspiracy count for his attempt to provide support to a foreign terrorism organization. He also pleaded guilty to a felony count of receipt of guns and ammunition to commit terrorism. Before agreeing to a plea deal, Tawhedi had faced three felony counts with a maximum punishment of 55 years. At the time of the arrest, Tawhedi was living with his wife and daughter in an Oklahoma City apartment. He arrived in the United States in 2021 from Afghanistan and moved to Oklahoma in December 2023. He had been working as an auto mechanic. He had worked for the CIA in Afghanistan as a security guard, NBC News reported last wife filed for divorce in Cleveland County District Court in January, one day after their second child was born. The case is pending. Zada, now 18, pleaded guilty in April to a felony count of receipt of guns and ammunition to commit terrorism. He is awaiting sentencing. He is the brother of Tawhedi's wife and also is an Afghan national. He has been in the United States since 2018. At the time of his arrest, Zada was living in Moore with his parents and siblings. He was a virtual student at Southmoore High School. Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond pointed to the plot to carry out a mass shooting in support of ISIS when he called for the expulsion of all Afghan refugees from Oklahoma. ISIS was largely defeated in Iraq in 2017 and in Syria in 2019 by a U.S.-led military campaign. The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, however, continues to attract people from across the world to join its ranks. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: ISIS supporter who played Election Day attack pleads guilty in OKC
