Dustin Reininger
Philly.com
A Texas man arrested with 21 guns in his car while passing through New Jersey four years ago will remain in prison after an appeals court on Monday upheld his conviction in a case that could wind up in front of the state Supreme Court.I'm sure the pro-gun crowd will find this a terrible violation of the guy's rights, but is it really? When gun owners decide to break laws because they find them too inconvenient or outright wrong, they should be prepared to pay the price. If they gamble and lose, they have to pay up. What could be fairer than that?
Dustin Reininger is serving a five-year sentence with a three-year minimum before he is eligible for parole.
A jury convicted him in absentia in 2010 on several weapons counts including illegal possession of shotguns, rifles, hollow-point bullets, and a high-capacity magazine after police found him sleeping in his car behind a bank in Readington early March 20, 2009.
Reininger, who was listed as living in Rockport, Texas, initially denied having guns in the car, but after they noticed two firearms cases on the backseat, police searched the vehicle and found 14 rifles, four shotguns, and three handguns, along with the bullets and magazine. Reininger told police he was moving to Texas from Maine and transporting the weapons, which his attorney says he legally owned.
The reasons for the laws are obvious. New Jersey doesn't like people hanging around banks, or anywhere else for that matter, with a car full of weapons.
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