Attorney James Lisa told a judge Thursday that he will seek a pardon after the judge denied allowing John Cramsey, of East Greenville, to enter the program after he earlier rejected a plea.
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Cramsey, an anti-drug activist whose daughter died of a drug overdose last year, and three others were stopped as they approached the Holland Tunnel connecting New Jersey and New York. Police recovered weapons including a semi-automatic military-style rifle, a shotgun and five handguns, along with other tactical gear.
Cramsey's two co-defendants, Dean Smith, of Whitehall, and Kimberly Arendt, of Lehighton, have struck a deal to avoid a trial.
Smith, who publishes a local magazine, says he came along to film a video interview with Cramsey. Smith testified at a hearing Thursday that he tried to convince Cramsey to turn around after hearing him instruct Arendt on how to load a shotgun. But he said he didn't stop the car.
The Republican Christie has made fighting the opioid epidemic a top priority and has also pardoned other out-of-state residents caught up in New Jersey's tough gun laws. A spokesman said Christie's office doesn't discuss, deny or confirm whether it has received any application for clemency or pardon.
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New Jersey has more stringent gun laws than Pennsylvania. It doesn't recognize carry permits from other states, and guns in cars must be kept locked and unloaded in a trunk or secure container.
Smith was driving Cramsey's neon-painted truck when the group was stopped. According to police, the vehicle was pulled over because it had a crack in its windshield and had some objects hanging from a rearview mirror.
The defendants have contended they were actually stopped because of the truck's Second Amendment-themed decorations.
Arendt was a former camp counselor of 18-year-old Jenea Patterson, who reached out after another girl she was with died of a drug overdose. Patterson later denied she was seeking help. She died in January of a drug overdose.