Florida man indicted after bringing multiple weapons, ammunition on New Jersey Amtrak train, officials say
A Florida man was indicted on Wednesday on multiple weapons charges after he brought firearms, including an AR-15 style rifle, onto an Amtrak train in New Jersey in January, officials announced.
Jeffrey O. Kennerk, 34, of Fort Lauderdale, was indicted on several offenses, including possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, unlawful possession of an assault firearm and more.
"This defendant allegedly hauled a small arsenal of deadly weapons and ammunition through busy transit stations, and on a train filled with passengers," New Jersey Attorney General Matthew J. 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."
According to officials, an NJ Transit police officer saw an unattended black and white zebra print suitcase in front of the McDonald's at Newark Penn Station next to the entrance of the Newark subway on Jan. 3 just before 3 p.m.
After a K9 unit cleared the bag for explosive devices, officials said police found a Glock handgun case inside the bag, along with multiple guns and ammunition. The case contained a Girsan Regard MC handgun with a fully loaded 18-round magazine and an AR-style magazine loaded with .223 rifle rounds, according to officials. It also had a plastic bag containing a shirt and two boxes labeled "9mm bullets" and four boxes of 223 caliber bullets.
Officials said a zipped secondary compartment inside the suitcase found in Newark had a pink duffle bag with a black Zastava Arms AK-47 style rifle with "one round loaded in the chamber and multiple loaded magazines."
Law enforcement reviewed surveillance video at Newark Penn Station that showed a man, allegedly Kennerk, wearing a black jacket with red pants and carrying two suitcases. He dropped the zebra print suitcase that was recovered by police, but then continued to carry a maroon one and went to the Amtrak ticket window to board a train bound for Virginia, officials said.
The next stop for the train heading to Virginia was at the Trenton Transit Center. When the train arrived in Trenton, Kennerk allegedly showed officers a "valid Amtrak ticket for a different train" and said he boarded the wrong one.
While Kennerk was waiting for the next train to arrive in Trenton, he was arrested after officers were told about a person of interest wanted in connection with the weapons found at Newark Penn Station, according to officials.
Officials said police found even more weapons and ammunition inside his second suitcase at the Trenton Transit Center. They allegedly found an "AR-15 style rifle that was separated into the lower and upper receiver, multiple caches of ammunitions, multiple extended magazines, and multiple handguns."
Officials said Kennerk was also in possession of a "booby-trapped" semiautomatic rifle that discharged without officers pulling the trigger. He also had silencers and hollow point ammunition, according to officials.
"I am very proud of the NJ TRANSIT Police officers involved in this case," NJ Transit Police Chief Christopher Trucillo said in a statement. "The officers who were on point in observing the unattended luggage in Penn Station, the officers who tracked the suspect's movements and passed the information to their fellow officers in the Trenton Transit Center; and Transit officers in Trenton who then located and took the suspect in custody. The case did not stop there. NJ TRANSIT detectives, along with investigators from other law enforcement agencies, continued to work the case that eventually led to the suspect's indictment. The collective actions of law enforcement eliminated the possible carnage that could have been caused by the weapons involved in this case."
