Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday pardoned a U.S. Marine sergeant working as a recruiter in the early voting state of New Hampshire of all gun and ammunition charges filed against him in Bergen County last Labor Day weekend
TRENTON -- Gov. Chris Christie on Wednesday pardoned a U.S. Marine sergeant working as a recruiter in the early voting state of New Hampshire of all gun and ammunition charges filed against him in Bergen County last Labor Day weekend.
Joshua Velez, 26, of Davers, Mass., works as a recruiter out of offices in both Boston and New Hampshire.
Christie, a candidate for the 2016 Republican nomination for president, is polling in fourth place in New Hampshire. The New Hampshire primary is 48 days away, scheduled for Feb. 9, 2016.
According to a statement from the governor's office released to media, "during the 2015 Labor Day Weekend, Velez and his cousin visited his brother, who resides in North Bergen."
On the evening of Saturday, Sept. 5, Velez was stopped by police for failing to use a turn signal, and the officer discovered Velez's unloaded Ruger 9MM handgun, "which he inadvertently brought to New Jersey in the locked glove compartment of his truck," according to a statement from the governor's office.
Velez, who the Governor's office said had "lawfully purchased" his firearm and was "licensed to carry the handgun in Massachusetts" cooperated with the police, identifying both the location of his license and the ammunition, which he had stored separately in the vehicle, but was arrested and charged with unlawful possession of a handgun and possession of hollow point bullets.
In August, at a campaign stop in Iowa, the governor had vowed to pardon those out-of-state residents who became unwittingly ensnared in New Jersey's tough gun transport laws, and he soon made good on the promise.
By October, he'd pardoned three out-of-state residents, including a Pennsylvania man, a Florida woman who'd brought her handgun to Liberty State Park and a North Carolina man who'd come to New Jersey to assist with storm repairs.
In June, Christie pardoned a North Brunswick armored car driver, Steffon Josey-Davis, and in April, he pardoned another Pennsylvania resident, Shaneen Allen.
Alexander Roubian, president of the New Jersey Second Amendment Society welcomed the move, but urged him to pay greater attention to Garden State residents facing similar headaches.
"We would ask Gov. Christie to focus on in-state residents who've fallen victim to New Jersey's draconian and absurd gun laws," said Roubian.
Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClaudeBrodesser. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.