Man busted moving arsenal of guns, ammo through Newark Penn Station
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
NBC News
15 minutes ago
- NBC News
Thieves have stolen millions in a string of armored car heists in the Philadelphia area, authorities say
Authorities in Pennsylvania are investigating whether two suspects accused of stealing more than half a million dollars from an armored car this week are connected to a string of recent heists in the Philadelphia area, a police official said Wednesday. It isn't clear if the robbery Tuesday in suburban Philadelphia is linked to the others, said Lt. Andrew Snyder of the Cheltenham Township Police Department. But Snyder said his department is part of a joint investigation examining links to the previous thefts, including one in which suspects armed with AR15-style rifles are accused of stealing more than $2 million from a Brinks driver at a Philadelphia Home Depot in June. The U.S. Attorney's Office for Pennsylvania's Eastern District announced three arrests in that case Wednesday on robbery and firearms charges. The prosecutor's office identified one of the suspects, Trayvine Jackson, 31, as a former employee of Brinks, the same company involved in Tuesday's robbery. In an email, a lawyer for Jackson described his client as a dedicated family man with a long-standing work history and no criminal record. "At this early pre-indictment stage, it is pre-mature to comment on what are at this point mere allegations," said the lawyer, David Mischak. A lawyer for another defendant, Daishaun Hughes-Murchison, declined to comment. An attorney for the third suspect, Brian Wallace, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. NBC Philadelphia reported that much of the money in the June robbery was recovered. A spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department, which is involved in the joint investigation, referred questions about the probe to the FBI. A spokesperson for the bureau declined to comment. A spokesperson for Brinks did not respond to a request for comment. Tuesday's robbery occurred just before 10:30 a.m. at an H-Mart in Cheltenham, north of Philadelphia, the township's police department said in a news release. Security video released by the department showed a Brinks driver walking away from an armored truck. Seconds later, two people with hoods, gloves and guns can be seen running after the driver. Moments later, they run back the other way. One was armed with an AR15-style weapon, according to the news release. The other had a handgun. They disarmed the driver and are believed to have stolen roughly $700,000, according to the release. The robbers fled in a black Acura that was later found abandoned. In another case on July 15, a Brinks employee opened fire on two men who he said tried to rob him in northeast Philadelphia, NBC Philadelphia reported. The men fled in a black late-model Nissan with tinted windows, according to the station. In another case earlier that month, three people — including one armed with an AR-15 style rifle — are accused of robbing a Brinks employee in a nearby part of Philadelphia, the station reported. It isn't clear if there have been any arrests in the case or how much was stolen. A spokesperson for the Philadelphia Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
New York Post
44 minutes ago
- New York Post
Armed robbers in Pennsylvania Brinks truck heist took over $700,000: Police
Police are investigating whether the armed robbery of a Brinks truck on Tuesday outside a Philadelphia-area store is related to four other attacks on armored vehicles in and around the city this summer. Two armed males got away with between $700,000 and $800,000 in the midday Tuesday heist at an H Mart in Elkins Park, according to Cheltenham Township police. The robbers — one described as armed with an AR-15-style pistol, the other with a handgun — fled with the cash and later abandoned their vehicle nearby, police said. Advertisement 4 The two armed men reportedly escaped with between $700,000 and $800,000. Cheltanham Township Police 4 One man was described to be armed with an AR-15-style pistol. Cheltanham Township Police No shots were fired, and no one was injured. Advertisement Cheltenham Township Police Lt. Andrew Snyder said it's the first such robbery in their township, but authorities are looking into whether it may be connected to four robberies of armored cars in and around Philadelphia since June that police and the FBI are investigating as possibly related. Federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that three people from Philadelphia who were arrested in early August are charged in connection with the $2 million armed robbery of a Brink's armored vehicle outside a Home Depot on June 21. A Loomis armored transport vehicle was held up outside an Aldi in a different neighborhood five days later. Then on July 2, a Brinks truck was held up outside a Dollar General at a shopping center. 4 Cheltenham Township Police Lt. Andrew Snyder said it's the first such robbery in their township. Cheltanham Township Police Advertisement 4 No shots were fired and no one was injured during the heist. Cheltanham Township Police And on July 15, police had a report of two suspects robbing one of the armored vehicles in northeast Philadelphia. FBI agent Wayne Jacobs told CBS News Philadelphia that law enforcement recovered most of the money stolen in the June 21 heist, as well as a number of long weapons and handguns. Advertisement Some of the money had been spent on jewelry, clothes and other items, he said. 'If this is the type of activity you're going to engage in, if you look at the timeline, six weeks from the time of the incident until the time of the arrest,' Jacobs said, 'it's just a matter of time before you're held accountable for your actions.'
San Francisco Chronicle
3 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Armed robbers in latest Philadelphia-area Brinks truck heist took $700,000 or more, police say
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Police are investigating whether the armed robbery of a Brinks truck on Tuesday outside a Philadelphia-area store is related to four other attacks on armored vehicles in and around the city this summer. Two armed males got away with between $700,000 and $800,000 in the midday Tuesday heist at an H Mart in Elkins Park, according to Cheltenham Township police. The robbers — one described as armed with an AR-15-style pistol, the other with a handgun — fled with the cash and later abandoned their vehicle nearby, police said. No shots were fired, and no one was injured. Cheltenham Township Police Lt. Andrew Snyder said it's the first such robbery in their township, but authorities are looking into whether it may be connected to four robberies of armored cars in and around Philadelphia since June that police and the FBI are investigating as possibly related. Federal prosecutors announced Wednesday that three people from Philadelphia who were arrested in early August are charged in connection with the $2 million armed robbery of a Brink's armored vehicle outside a Home Depot on June 21. A Loomis armored transport vehicle was held up outside an Aldi in a different neighborhood five days later. Then on July 2, a Brinks truck was held up outside a Dollar General at a shopping center. And on July 15, police had a report of two suspects robbing one of the armored vehicles in northeast Philadelphia. FBI agent Wayne Jacobs told CBS News Philadelphia that law enforcement recovered most of the money stolen in the June 21 heist, as well as a number of long weapons and handguns. Some of the money had been spent on jewelry, clothes and other items, he said. 'If this is the type of activity you're going to engage in, if you look at the timeline, six weeks from the time of the incident until the time of the arrest,' Jacobs said, 'it's just a matter of time before you're held accountable for your actions.'
