A Florida man has been indicted in Trenton, New Jersey, after allegedly boarding an Amtrak train with what authorities described as a “small arsenal” of weapons.
Jeffrey O. Kennerk, 34, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was caught on a train on Jan. 3 with assault weapons, large-capacity ammunition magazines, handguns, silencers and a booby-trapped rifle that fired during his arrest at the Trenton Transit Center, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin’s office said on April 16.
“This defendant allegedly hauled a small arsenal of deadly weapons and ammunition through busy transit stations, and on a train filled with passengers,” Platkin said in a statement. “He allegedly left a suitcase containing assorted weapons and ammunition – including an assault rifle – in the concourse of Newark Penn Station, where anyone could have been harmed by them. If not for the outstanding police work done in this matter, we can only imagine where this defendant and these weapons would have ended up.”
A New Jersey Transit Police officer was tipped off to an unaccompanied black and white zebra-print suitcase near the entrance to the Newark subway.
When authorities investigated the bag, they found a handgun with a fully loaded 18-round magazine. Further investigation revealed an AR-style magazine fully loaded with .223 ammunition, and a plastic bag with two boxes of 9mm ammunition and four boxes of .223 ammunition, officials said.
A secondary compartment in the bag allegedly contained a loaded Zastava Arms AK-47-style rifle and several more fully loaded magazines.
According to Platkin’s office, Kennerk briefly abandoned the bag to purchase an Amtrak train ticket to Virginia. He then boarded the train in Newark but was intercepted by law enforcement at the train’s next stop in Trenton.
Authorities said they found more weapons and ammunition upon Kennerk’s arrest, including an “AR-15-style rifle that was separated into the lower and upper receiver, multiple caches of ammunition, multiple extended magazines, and multiple handguns.”
They also found another rifle with .300 AAC Blackout ammunition, according to Platkin’s office.
“The officer placed the muzzle into the suitcase pointed at the ground and attempted to remove one of the handkerchiefs to render it safe, at which time the firearm discharged without the officer engaging the trigger, indicating that the gun was allegedly booby-trapped,” the AG’s office said.
Authorities said they also found four silencers and hollow point ammunition in both 9mm and .22 long rifle calibers.
Kennerk was indicted for possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, four counts of unlawful possession of a weapon, three counts of unlawful possession of an assault firearm, one count of aggravated assault and one count of certain persons not to have weapons, which are all second-degree crimes.
He was also charged with several fourth-degree crimes, including two counts of unlawful possession of a large-capacity ammunition magazine, and one count each of unlawful possession of hollow nose ammunition, unlawful possession of a silencer, endangering another person and causing or risking widespread injury or damage.
