[NJ] "Handguns, shotguns and rifles": Trooper Hrubesh gets to "step down" after MYSTERY CHARGE - gun domestic violence incident

...Despite the dismissal of a temporary restraining order prior to the weapon's discovery, Hrubesh was not permitted possession of any firearms... Defense attorney Thomas Pavics said Hrubesh had reconciled with the victim and chose the plea deal to bring a practical end to the lengthy and costly case... [Assistant Prosecutor Dawn] Solari will recommend that he only serve probation... Hrubesh will be eligible for his full pension...

RANDOM THOUGHTS OUT LOUD:

WHAT WAS THE DOMESTIC VIOLENCE THAT POLICE WERE CALLED TO? WHAT WAS THE PREVIOUS RESTRAINING ORDER FOR? WHY EVEN BEFORE THE MOST RECENT RESPONSE TO A DOMESTIC AT HIS HOME WAS HE PROHIBITED FROM HAVING WEAPONS? HOW DO YOU TROOPER LIKE THAT? WHO SHOULD BE A TROOPER LIKE THAT? WAS HIS ARSENAL REMOVED FROM THEIR HOME EARLIER AND THAT IS WHY HE SAYS HE BORROWED THE GUN HE WAS CAUGHT WITH? WHY IS THE VICTIM INVISIBLE? WHY STOP NOW - WAS HE DRUNK? DID HE THREATEN? IS THERE HELP FOR HIM? WOULD HE TAKE IT?

IS THERE HELP FOR HER AND HER SON? WOULD THEY TAKE IT? (WHO COULD SHE TRUST? WHO'S POWERFUL ENOUGH TO LIFT SOMEONE FROM THE RING OF FIRE INTO COOL SAFE AIR?

WHERE CAN SHE TURN FOR HELP WHEN THE PROSECUTOR IS FOR THE ACCUSED AND THE NEWSPAPER WON'T EVEN NAME THE ORIGINAL CHARGE?

HOW MANY CALLS HAVE THERE BEEN TO THE HOME?

THERE ARE "40 HANDGUNS, SHOTGUNS, AND RIFLES" INSIDE THEIR HOME AND OUTSIDE THEIR HOME THERE IS A STATEWIDE BROTHERHOOD.

OVER AND AROUND IT ALL
THERE ARE UNSPOKEN UNDERSTANDINGS.

Trooper to retire as part of plea deal Sgt. James Hrubesh had faced charges in domestic dispute.
The Star-Ledger
By Ralph R. Ortega
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
[Excerpts] A veteran state trooper will step down from his post when he is sentenced later this month under the terms of a plea deal in what started out as a domestic violence case against the officer in Hunterdon County. Sgt. James Hrubesh, 53, is scheduled to be sentenced May 30, after police found he was unlawfully in possession of a gun during a domestic violence call to his home in Readington Township more than a year and a half ago. Hrubesh originally faced a third-degree charge [?????] but will have the charge knocked down to a disorderly persons offense, according to the plea deal he signed with the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office. Under the deal offered by Assistant Prosecutor Dawn Solari, Hrubesh must retire from the state police and not work again as a law enforcement officer in New Jersey. In exchange, Solari will recommend that he only serve probation... Hrubesh will be eligible for his full pension. Pavics said the disorderly persons offense should not further affect his client's retirement... Despite the dismissal of a temporary restraining order prior to the weapon's discovery, Hrubesh was not permitted possession of any firearms, wrote Assistant Prosecutor Brian Shevlin, in a January letter to the court... [Full article here]

EXCERPTS FROM OLDER NEWS

Revolver brought to middle school was a trooper's
Stepdad says boy took his gun
The Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ)
Jennifer Weiss
December 7, 2005
[Excerpts] The .22-caliber revolver an eighth-grade boy carried into the Readington Middle School belonged to a veteran New Jersey state trooper who is the boy's stepfather. Staff Sgt. James Hrubesh said the revolver was one of his collection of 35 to 40 handguns, shotguns and rifles... Hrubesh also confirmed the state Division of Youth and Family Services was notified in January or February that Hrubesh's stepson may have access to guns at his home and investigated. Hrubesh said the agency determined the allegation to be unfounded... State Police spokesman Gerald Lewis said Hrubesh reported the recent incident involving his stepson to the Office of Professional Standards, BUT HE WOULD NOT SAY whether police were conducting an internal investigation. "Our Office of Professional Standards is aware of it"... Hrubesh, a licensed hunter with a number of animal heads and pelts tacked to his walls, said his stepson has shown an interest in hunting. "He uses a gun under my supervision," Hrubesh said, sitting at a table across from his wife, the boy's mother, Brenda Hrubesh... He said he and his wife gave the boy a small gun safe "for his room" last Christmas... He and Brenda Hrubesh agreed their son is a "great kid," not a troublemaker, who has faced difficulties in his life and who now feels sorry for what he did. "He's a good young man. He really does have a heart of gold," Brenda Hrubesh said, crying. James Hrubesh said he and his wife have cooperated with investigators and have advised their son to do the same. "I work in law enforcement. I like to see justice prevail," said James Hrubesh . "If you do something wrong, you figure it out, you get to the bottom of it and you pay the price for what you did."

Gun teen took to school belongs to stepfather, a state trooper
Courier News (Bridgewater, NJ)
Pamela Sroka
December 8, 2005
[Excerpts] ...Hrubesh contends they were not loaded at the time. He said his stepson might have obtained ammunition from another student after arriving at school... State police spokesman Gerald Lewis said Hrubesh, who works in operations at the Troop C headquarters in Hamilton, reported the gun incident involving his son to the Office of Professional Standards, but said an investigation has since been turned over to the Hunterdon County Prosecutor's Office. First Assistant Hunterdon County Prosecutor Steven Lember said Wednesday he could not comment on juvenile matters under law and refused to confirm or deny whether an investigation was continuing...

A Little Law:

2C:58-15. Minor's access to a loaded firearm; penalty, conditions
1. a. A person who knows or reasonably should know that a minor is likely to gain access to a loaded firearm at a premises under the person's control commits a disorderly persons offense if a minor gains access to the firearm, unless the person:
(1) Stores the firearm in a securely locked box or container;
(2) Stores the firearm in a location which a reasonable person would believe to be secure; or
(3) Secures the firearm with a trigger lock...