New Jersey Use of a Gun During a Crime Lawyer

Use of a Firearm During a Crime Defense Attorney in Totowa, NJ, Handling Aggravated Charges and Consequences

A charge for using a gun during a crime in New Jersey is one of the most intimidating accusations you can face. Even if the weapon was never fired, simply having a firearm involved can turn a situation into a mandatory prison case under the Graves Act.

Our New Jersey use of a gun during a crime lawyer understands how quickly things can spiral. New Jersey treats these cases with extraordinary severity.

Prosecutors often push for extended sentences, mandatory minimums, and restrictions that limit any chance of early release. But these cases are rarely as clear as they seem.

You deserve a defense team that knows how to fight back against aggressive prosecution, challenge the evidence, and push for Graves Act waivers. We've helped many people in the position you’re in right now.

Contact us today for a free consultation, and let’s start building the strongest defense to protect your freedom and your future.

What It Means to Use a Gun During a Crime in New Jersey

Using a gun during a crime doesn't just mean firing it.

Under New Jersey law, you "use" a gun when you possess it during the crime, brandish it to threaten someone, or even just have it accessible while committing the offense. Prosecutors charge gun use broadly.

• You robbed a convenience store with a handgun in your waistband. That's using a gun during a crime.
• You threatened someone during an assault while carrying a concealed weapon. It still counts as gun use.

The gun doesn't have to be real. Prosecutors charge people for using imitation firearms and BB guns. If the victim believed it was real, that's often enough.

The key is that the gun was present during the commission of another crime. That combination—underlying crime plus firearm—triggers enhanced penalties, additional charges, and mandatory minimum sentences under the Graves Act.

Crimes Become More Serious When a Gun Is Involved

New Jersey law dramatically increases the severity of crimes when firearms are involved.

Take robbery as an example.

Simple robbery—taking property from someone by force or threat of force—is a second-degree crime carrying 5 to 10 years in prison.

But armed robbery—committing that same robbery while possessing a firearm—elevates it to a first-degree crime carrying 10 to 20 years in prison with a mandatory minimum.

That's not a small difference.

Assault works the same way. Simple assault might be a disorderly persons offense with a six-month maximum in county jail.

But if you commit that assault while possessing a firearm, it becomes aggravated assault, a second-degree crime carrying years in state prison and Graves Act mandatory minimums.

Prosecutors use these enhanced charges as leverage. They know the mandatory minimums terrify defendants into accepting plea deals.

Penalties for Using a Firearm During a Crime in New Jersey

Gun-enhanced crimes carry some of the most severe penalties in New Jersey's criminal code. The combination of enhanced charges for the underlying crime, Graves Act mandatory minimums, and additional weapons offenses creates sentences that can span decades.

Mandatory Minimum Sentences Under the Graves Act

The Graves Act governs sentencing for gun crimes in New Jersey. When you use a firearm during the commission of a crime, the Graves Act imposes mandatory minimum sentences that must be served before you're eligible for parole.

First-degree crimes (like armed robbery):

• 10 to 20 years in state prison
• Mandatory minimum of at least 10 years before parole eligibility

Second-degree crimes (like certain weapons offenses):

• 5 to 10 years in state prison
• Mandatory minimum of 42 months (3.5 years) before parole eligibility

Additional Charges That Are Likely To Be Added

Prosecutors don't stop at the enhanced underlying crime. They pile on additional weapons charges that run consecutively to the primary offense.

Unlawful Possession of a Weapon

Unlawful possession of a weapon is charged separately from the crime you committed with it. That's an additional second-degree charge carrying 5 to 10 years. This sentence often runs consecutively to your sentence for the underlying crime, meaning you serve one after the other.

Possession of a Weapon for an Unlawful Purpose

Possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose gets added when prosecutors believe you intended to use the gun to commit a crime. This is another second-degree charge with 5 to 10 years. Again, this typically runs consecutively to other sentences.

Gun charges in New Jersey carry penalties that can consume decades of your life. Speak with our New Jersey use of a gun during a crime lawyer to understand your options for protecting your freedom.

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How Our New Jersey Gun Crimes Lawyer Can Defend You

Every gun-enhanced case has unique facts that determine which defense strategies will work.

Your specific circumstances dictate our entire approach. But we can show you the defense strategies we can use so you understand how we fight these cases.

Challenging the Allegation That a Gun Was Used

Prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you possessed and used a firearm during the commission of the crime. Sometimes they can't.

We've defended clients where the only evidence of a gun was the victim's statement that they saw one. No gun was recovered. No other witnesses saw a weapon. No surveillance footage shows a firearm.

When it's simply one person's word against yours, we can attack their credibility and create reasonable doubt.

In other cases, prosecutors claim you possessed a gun because one was found nearby after the crime.

But possession requires more than proximity. We can prove someone else had access to the location where the gun was found. We show the gun had no fingerprints, DNA, or other physical evidence connecting you to it. We can establish reasonable doubt about whether you ever possessed the weapon.

Challenging Illegal Searches, Stops, and Seizures

Most gun-enhanced cases involve evidence obtained through searches of your person, your vehicle, your home, or your property. If those searches violated your Fourth Amendment rights, the gun evidence gets suppressed and the enhanced charges collapse.

We examine every aspect of how police obtained evidence. Did they have a valid search warrant? If not, did they have probable cause for a warrantless search? Did you actually consent to the search, or were you coerced? Did police exceed the scope of their authority?

If our New Jersey use of a gun during a crime lawyer can suppress the gun evidence, prosecutors lose their enhanced charges.

Negotiating for Reduced Charges or Graves Act Relief

When the evidence against you is strong and dismissal isn't realistic, our New Jersey gun crime attorneys focus on reducing charges and obtaining Graves Act waivers to avoid mandatory minimum sentences.

Graves Act waivers are difficult to obtain. They require prosecutor consent and judicial approval. We build compelling cases for waivers by demonstrating:

• Limited or no criminal history
• Significant mitigating circumstances
• The mandatory minimum would be manifestly unjust, given the specific facts
• You're not a danger to public safety

How we help you depends entirely on the facts of your case. What crime are you charged with? How did police discover the gun? Can prosecutors prove you possessed it? Do you have a criminal history?

Discuss your case with us and learn exactly how we can protect your freedom.

Why People Facing Gun-Enhanced Charges Trust Camili & Capo, PA

When Krenar Camili decided to pursue law, he had no roadmap to follow. Being the first in his family to attend law school meant figuring out everything himself:

• How to succeed academically
• How to build practical skills
• How to become the kind of lawyer who actually makes a difference in people's lives

That experience shaped his entire approach to criminal defense. He learned that success doesn't come from connections or shortcuts. It comes from outworking everyone else and mastering your craft.

After clerking for the Honorable Raymond A. Reddin, J.S.C. of the Passaic County Superior Court, Krenar worked as an Assistant Prosecutor for over seven years. During that time, he prosecuted countless cases involving firearms and weapons charges. He tried armed robberies, gun possession cases, and violent crimes committed with weapons.

He knows exactly how prosecutors approach gun-enhanced cases. He knows they use Graves Act mandatory minimums to pressure defendants into accepting harsh plea deals. He knows they stack charges to maximize exposure and create leverage. He knows which evidence they consider essential and which parts of their case are vulnerable to challenge.

Now he uses that prosecutor's perspective to defend people facing the same charges he once prosecuted. He identifies the weaknesses in the state's case that prosecutors hope you won't notice. He knows when they're bluffing about their evidence and when they actually have you dead to rights.

Our other partner, Joseph Capo, shares that same relentless commitment to protecting clients' rights. He appears regularly in federal, state, and local courts across New Jersey, fighting cases where people face decades in prison because a gun was involved in their alleged crime. He knows that gun-enhanced charges in New Jersey aren't like other states.

Together, they've spent over 35 years defending people against serious criminal charges.

We've handled hundreds of gun cases. Discuss your case with our use of a firearm during a crime defense attorney in Totowa, NJ. We can help you.

Contact Our New Jersey Use of a Gun During a Crime Lawyer at Camili & Capo, PA, Today for a Free Case Review

You're facing charges that could cost you decades of your life. The mandatory minimums under the Graves Act mean prison time is almost guaranteed unless something changes.

You don't have to face this alone. We've defended hundreds of people charged with gun-enhanced crimes in New Jersey.

People who made terrible mistakes. People who were in the wrong place at the wrong time. People whose cases seemed hopeless until we found weaknesses in the prosecution's evidence or negotiated outcomes that avoided decades in prison.

Time matters. Evidence needs to be preserved. Witnesses need to be located. Defense strategies need to be developed before prosecutors solidify their position. The sooner we start working, the better your chances.

Let's discuss what happened and how we can fight these charges.

For help from a use of a gun during a crime lawyer in New Jersey, contact the Camili & Capo, PA, firm online or call today.