Attorney Yosef Boruch Jacobovitch: This entire saga never should have happened, and it stems from a fundamental lack of training by both the Lakewood Police Department and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office on New Jersey’s post-Bruen firearms laws.
Lakewood resident R' Yaakov Steinfeld is a lawfully licensed handgun carrier. Each day, he drives to Beth Medrash Govoha for davening.
Due to his uncertainty of Governor Murphy's 2022 "carry killer" law package which are vague regarding carrying on school premises, he does not bring the firearm into the school building. Instead, he safely stores the firearm in a locked container in the trunk of his car before entering the building.
When leaving the yeshiva and reentering his vehicle, he transfers the handgun to the netted compartment behind the driver's seat - securely within arm’s reach during travel.
April 23, 2025 was a game changing day for Steinfeld. Lakewood Police Officer L. Jaramillo #464 effectuated a motor vehicle stop on Steinfeld.
Steinfeld immediately notified the officer he is a lawfully licensed handgun carrier and that he had a handgun in the rear compartment of the front passenger seat.
Officer Jaramillo criminally charged Steinfeld with a violation of N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4.6(b)(2), alleging that he unlawfully left a loaded handgun outside his immediate possession in a vehicle.
Bizzarely, Jaramillo's affidavit states that Steinfeld told him he left the firearm in his car "in plain view" - whereas Steinfeld contends he told Jaramillo he safely stored the firearm in a locked container in the trunk of his car before entering the building.
Defense Attorney Yosef Boruch Jacobovitch who is defending Steinfeld obtained surveillance video footage from Beth Medrash Govoha supporting the facts that Steinfeld did move the handgun into a locked container in the trunk of his car before entering the building.
After reviewing the charges, Mr. Jacobovitch immediately reached out to both the Lakewood Police Department and Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and placed them on notice that Steinfeld's placement of the handgun while driving is not contrary to the law.
"The charge arises under N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4.6(b)(2), which provides:
> “A holder of a valid and lawfully issued permit to carry a handgun shall not leave a handgun outside of their immediate possession or control within a parked vehicle…”
"Storing a firearm within the glove compartment or seat-back netting - while the individual is in the vehicle - constitutes having it within “immediate possession or control,” as required by statute... Furthermore, his practice of locking the firearm in a trunk lockbox when leaving the vehicle demonstrates careful adherence to responsible handling," Mr. Jacobovitch wrote to the Prosecutor’s Office.
"2C:58-4.6(b)(1) is also applicable in this case, which indicates a person lawfully carrying a firearm shall not do so in a vehicle unless the handgun is unloaded and contained in a closed and securely fastened case or gunbox or is locked unloaded in the trunk or storage area of the vehicle," Assistant Prosecutor Anne Wen responded.
Whoa! The federal courts have granted an injunction barring enforcement of 2C:58-4.6(b)(1) finding it to be unconstitutional. Mr. Jacobovitch immediately and respectfully relayed this information to Wen.
The expectation was that the Prosecutor’s Office would drop the case. Instead, the prosecutor threatened to bring the charges to a State Grand Jury for an indictment unless Steinfeld agreed to plead guilty to a felony offense.
Mr. Jacobovitch immediately responded by filing a formal motion seeking to dismiss the Complaint-Summons.
"The Complaint-Summons is legally and factually insufficient, including that the firearm was never left outside the Defendant’s immediate possession or control as required by the statute; that N.J.S.A. 2C:58-4.6(b)(1) is not enforceable at this time; and that the Complaint-Summons is defective on its face for failing to properly cite the correct statute in the narrative and probable cause affidavit," the motion papers stress.
Facing the strength of the merits of the Motion, the Prosecutor's Office this week agreed to dismiss the case.
“This entire saga never should have happened, and it stems from a fundamental lack of training by both the Lakewood Police Department and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office on New Jersey’s post-Bruen firearms laws,” Attorney Yosef Boruch Jacobovitch told FAA News. “From day one, I went directly to the police department and the Prosecutor’s Office explaining - clearly and respectfully - why my client’s conduct was lawful and why he should never have been charged in the first place. Instead of engaging with the law or the facts, those explanations were met with a tone-deaf response that reflected a disturbing unfamiliarity with the very statutes they are enforcing.”
“It is deeply troubling that a law-abiding citizen had to endure months of anxiety, legal expense, and the threat of indictment simply because the authorities refused to acknowledge their own misunderstanding of the law,” Jacobovitch added. “Equally troubling is the reality that meaningful accountability is nearly impossible, because police officers and prosecutors routinely shield themselves behind ‘qualified immunity’ and ‘prosecutorial discretion.’ While the dismissal of this case is the correct outcome, it does not undo the damage caused by insufficient training and an unwillingness to correct obvious errors at the outset.”
This saga filing - which challenges the factual and legal integrity of both the Lakewood Police Department and the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office - comes amidst growing community outrage over the continued prosecution of Lakewood resident Binyomin Kubani under similarly controversial circumstances.
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2 comments:
There are NJ attorneys that specialize in suing police and prosecutors for these illegal arrests and charges. It's true that are not necessarily 613 attorneys, but Who picks doctors or lawyers based on their religion not based on their record.
see https://yudelstake.blogspot.com/2025/08/central-nj-attorneys-experienced-in.html
Where are our elected officials that are supposed to protect us from this type of trash and this abuse of power that's destroying the lives of innocent folk?
This almost feels like we are living under a Russian lawless regime here.
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