Three gun-toting vigilantes who tried to take a cache of weapons loaded on a souped-up SUV into the Big Apple, have been indicted on multiple charges, authorities said.
John Cramsey, 51, Dean Smith, 53, both of Zionsville, Pa., and Kimberly Arendt, 29, of Lehighton, Pa., face a total of 63 counts of unspecified charges, The Morning Call reported.
Cramsey – a gun range owner and anti-heroin crusader who is said to have used aggressive tactics to save at least a dozen people from drug dens – claimed he was racing to Brooklyn with his pals to rescue a female drug user who they believed had been kidnapped.
The trio was stopped by cops on the New Jersey side of the Holland Tunnel for a cracked windshield on June 21. Police discovered a trove of weapons and marijuana in the vehicle, which was plastered with symbols supporting the 2nd Amendment.
They were slapped with several charges, including weapons possession, possession of high-capacity magazines, transport of an assault firearm and pot possession.
Smith is a videographer and editor of a Pennsylvania entertainment blog, and Arendt is an anti-heroin activist, NJ.com reported.
The three suspects are due in court for a hearing Oct. 31 before Judge Mitzy Galis-Menendez. Copies of the indictment will not be made available before the hearing, Hudson County spokesman Ray Worrall said.
Cramsey’s lawyer, James Lisa, said his client would enter a not-guilty plea at the arraignment, the paper reported.
Lisa also said he would file a motion to suppress the evidence of seized guns and ammo seized from the truck because the stop was improper.
Attorneys for the three have argued that the truck was stopped because it was festooned with incendiary decals.
Cramsey — whose only daughter, Alexandria, 20, died of a heroin overdose in February – had posted on Facebook the he was heading to Brooklyn to “extract a 16 year old who up there to party.” He claimed the girl woke up in a hotel next to a friend who had died of a heroin overdose.
He claimed he forgot to remove the arsenal from his truck before setting off for Brooklyn.
Arendt’s lawyer, Brooke Barnett, has said her client was unaware any guns were in the truck, NJ.com reported.
Smith also claimed in a letter to the editor that he was unaware that guns were present.