Weapons Offenses Attorney in New Brunswick, Middlesex County
Reviewed by William A. Proetta, Esq. · Updated October 2026
New Jersey’s weapons laws sit mainly in chapter 39 of the criminal code (N.J.S.A. 2C:39), and most charges are indictable crimes graded from 4th degree (up to 18 months) to 2nd degree (5 to 10 years). The most common serious charge, carrying a handgun without a permit under N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(b)(1), is a 2nd-degree Graves Act offense, which means a mandatory period without parole of one-half the sentence or 42 months, whichever is greater, unless the prosecutor agrees to a waiver.
Indictable weapons cases from Edison, Woodbridge, Piscataway or North Brunswick go first to the county prosecutor’s Kirkpatrick Street offices for review, and any trial takes place at the Middlesex County Courthouse on Paterson Street; the few disorderly persons weapons offenses stay in the municipal court of the town. Our Edison office handles gun and weapons defense across the county. Over 15-plus years in courtrooms, I have stood beside many people who never thought of themselves as criminals: licensed owners from other states, permit holders, collectors and young adults who borrowed the wrong bag.
Weapons Charges at a Glance
Middlesex weapons charges at a glance, most serious first
N.J.S.A. 2C:39, 2C:58-4.6 and 2C:43-6(c). Bars run from zero to the top of each ordinary range on a 0 to 10 year scale.
The Graves minimum is 18 months at 4th degree. The assault-firearm ban and the 10-round magazine limit are being challenged in federal court; the statutes remain in the code, but the law can change quickly.
A prior conviction for a crime on the No Early Release Act list can raise a handgun, rifle, shotgun, machine gun or assault-firearm possession charge to 1st degree under 2C:39-5(j). Fines reach $150,000 at 2nd degree, $15,000 at 3rd degree and $10,000 at 4th degree. The assault-firearm ban and the 10-round magazine limit are being challenged in federal court; the statutes remain in the code, but the law can change quickly.
The Graves Act in One Paragraph
Under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(c), a conviction for a listed firearm offense, including simple handgun possession, requires state prison with parole ineligibility of one-half the sentence or 42 months, whichever is greater (18 months at 4th degree). Air pistols, air rifles and rifles or shotguns carried without a purchaser card are excluded by 2C:43-6(d)(2). The only way below the floor is a waiver under N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6.2, which requires the prosecutor’s motion (or a judge’s referral the prosecutor approves), and which results in probation or a one-year parole bar. The Attorney General’s guidance shapes standard offers and favors leniency for qualifying out-of-state visitors, and State v. Taylor, decided by the New Jersey Supreme Court on August 6, 2025, allows a judge to review a refused waiver for an ordinary abuse of discretion. Our statewide Graves Act guide covers all of it in detail.
The Graves Act, step by step
N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6(c), 2C:43-6(d)(2) and 2C:43-6.2.
No Graves minimumThe Graves floor does not apply to an offense that is not listed.
Go to step 2The offense is Graves-listed.
ExcludedAir pistols, air rifles, and rifles or shotguns carried without a purchaser card.
The minimum appliesState prison with parole ineligibility of one-half the sentence or 42 months, whichever is greater (18 months at 4th degree).
Waiver grantedProbation or a one-year parole bar.
Waiver refusedUnder State v. Taylor (N.J. Aug. 6, 2025), a judge can review a refused waiver for an ordinary abuse of discretion.
The Attorney General’s guidance shapes standard offers and favors leniency for qualifying out-of-state visitors.
Carry Permits in Brief
Since Bruen and P.L.2022, c.131, a New Jersey permit to carry a handgun is issued by the local chief of police, or by the State Police for nonresidents, after references, training and a fee, and it allows concealed carry only. Permit holders still face criminal exposure: carrying in one of the places listed in N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4.6 is a 3rd-degree crime, and the vehicle rules carry a 4th-degree charge. Several of those provisions are being challenged in federal court, and the law can change quickly, so get current advice. We are also seeing more permit holders charged with carry-related offenses, such as failing to disclose a concealed weapon to an officer right away and carrying while intoxicated; both topics have their own pages listed below.
How Weapons Cases Move Through Middlesex County
Most gun arrests here start on the road: a stop on the Turnpike, the Parkway, Route 1, Route 9, Route 18 or I-287, followed by a question about weapons in the car. Even lawful owners are normally charged on a complaint-warrant, not a summons, then kept at the county jail on Apple Orchard Lane until a video first appearance; those sessions are held every day except Sunday at 2:30 p.m. When the case involves an illegal street gun, prosecutors frequently move to detain, and release can be very hard to win; for many Graves-listed firearm offenses, Pretrial Services must recommend no release, although simple handgun possession is excluded from that rule. Our page on first appearances and detention hearings explains the schedule.
The Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office then screens the charges. Its Task Force handles gun and drug trafficking and gang investigations. For visitors, the office looks closely at whether the gun was being carried legally under the person’s home-state law and the federal safe-passage rules, and if anything is questionable it normally will not agree to Pretrial Intervention. The 2026 law allowing sentencing one degree lower has not changed the 42-month Graves floor in practice, so we do not build a defense around it.
Cases that are not resolved go to a grand jury and then to arraignment in New Brunswick. A PTI application must be filed no later than the Initial Case Disposition Conference; at 1st or 2nd degree the prosecutor’s consent is needed just to apply. Throughout, the most powerful tool is often a motion to suppress: if the stop or search was unlawful, the weapon cannot be used.
From the stop to the Superior Court in Middlesex County
Indictable weapons cases are screened by the Prosecutor’s Office on Kirkpatrick Street and tried at the Middlesex County Courthouse on Paterson Street.
The few disorderly persons weapons offenses stay in the municipal court of the town.
Our Middlesex Weapons Pages
Possession and purpose
– Unlawful possession of a weapon: handguns, rifles and shotguns, other weapons, and the home and business exemptions under 2C:39-6.
– Possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose: grades by weapon type and how the charge merges with the underlying crime.
– Certain persons not to have weapons: who is barred, the fixed five-year parole bar and bifurcated trials.
– Knives, brass knuckles and other weapons: the “not manifestly appropriate” test, switchblades and stun guns.
Specific guns, parts and ammunition
– BB guns, airsoft and paintball guns: when an air gun is a “firearm” and why it is excluded from Graves.
– Imitation firearms: replicas, school property and robbery.
– Ghost guns and 3D-printed firearms: unserialized frames, printing files and conversion devices.
– Hollow point bullets: the 4th-degree charge and its narrow exemptions.
– Large-capacity magazines: the 10-round limit and the pending federal challenge.
Carrying, travel and sales
– Out-of-state gun owners: federal safe passage, nonresident permits and the AG’s guidance for visitors.
– Carry permits and sensitive places: who issues permits and the places where carrying is a crime.
– Charges against carry permit holders: disclosure, intoxication, holstering and vehicle rules.
– Firearms trafficking and unlawful sale: straw purchases, defaced guns and dealer liability.
Related charges
– Weapons during a drug offense: the consecutive sentence under 2C:39-4.1.
– Domestic violence weapons seizure and return: getting guns back after a domestic call or restraining order.
Middlesex Weapons Charges FAQs
Is having an unregistered gun a crime in New Jersey?
New Jersey has no general gun registry. The usual charge is unlawful possession, such as carrying a handgun without a permit. Registration applies to new residents, who must register handguns they bring into the state within 60 days, and to certain assault firearms.
Will I go to prison for a first-offense handgun charge?
Without a waiver, a conviction requires at least 42 months before parole, or one-half of the sentence if longer. A waiver can reduce that to probation or a one-year parole bar, and some cases qualify for PTI with the prosecutor’s consent.
Are BB guns and hollow points really crimes?
An air pistol that meets the statutory definition is a 3rd-degree crime, and BB guns are normally charged at 3rd degree in Middlesex. Hollow point bullets outside the home and the other exemptions are a 4th-degree crime, even for carry permit holders.
Where will my Edison or Woodbridge gun case be heard?
Indictable weapons charges are screened by the Prosecutor’s Office and heard in the Superior Court in New Brunswick. Only disorderly persons offenses stay in the township municipal court.
Can I get my gun back after a Middlesex case is dismissed or I finish PTI?
It can happen, but it depends on the prosecutor’s office and the facts. Guns seized in domestic violence cases follow a separate Family Part process.
Can a gun conviction be expunged in New Jersey?
Yes. Weapons crimes are absent from the short list of permanently barred convictions, so they follow the standard waiting periods, although federal firearm and immigration consequences are separate questions.
Talk to a Middlesex County Weapons Defense Lawyer
Do not explain the gun, the trip or the permit to police before you have advice. Our Edison line, (732) 659-9600, is staffed around the clock, or you can write to us and we will respond promptly. You can also read about William A. Proetta.