NEW LEBANON – State Police have arrested a Hopewell Junction man for possessing a legally possessed handgun, but with a clip containing nine bullets. The new state SAFE Act limits the amount of rounds in a clip to seven.
As a result, Gregory Dean Jr., 31, has been charged with unlawful possession of certain ammunition feeding devices and aggravated unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle, both of which are misdemeanors. He was also charged with a traffic infraction and issued appearance tickets.
Dean was stopped on Route 22 in the Town of New Lebanon at 9:45 p.m. on Sunday. He had a legally possessed .40 caliber handgun on the front passenger seat partially covered by a sweatshirt.
Assemblyman Steven Katz (R- Yorktown) was highly critical of the charge.
“We cannot stand for these violations of our constitutional rights,” Katz said, calling for a repeal of the law “before any other legal gun owner is turned into a criminal.”
Senator Gregory Ball (R- Patterson) called the charge “a very sad day for all fair minded New Yorkers who believe in justice and value freedom.”