STATE OF NEW JERSEY VS. WILBUR MOUNT (14-02-0225, MIDDLESEX COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) ( 2019 )

NOT FOR PUBLICATION WITHOUT THE
APPROVAL OF THE APPELLATE DIVISION
This opinion shall not "constitute precedent or be binding upon any court ." Although it is posted on the
internet, this opinion is binding only on the parties in the case and its use in other cases is limited. R. 1:36-3.
SUPERIOR COURT OF NEW JERSEY
APPELLATE DIVISION
DOCKET NO. A-5323-18T4
STATE OF NEW JERSEY,
Plaintiff-Appellant,
v.
WILBUR MOUNT,
Defendant-Respondent.
___________________________
Submitted December 16, 2019 – Decided December 23, 2019
Before Judges Sabatino and Sumners.
On appeal from the Superior Court of New Jersey, Law
Division, Middlesex County, Indictment No. 14-02-
0225.
Christopher L.C. Kuberiet, Acting Middlesex County
Prosecutor, attorney for appellant (Joie D. Piderit,
Special Deputy Attorney General/Acting Assistant
Prosecutor, of counsel and on the brief).
Respondent has not filed a brief.
PER CURIAM
In this firearms possession case, the State appeals the trial court's June 28,
2019 order granting defendant Wilbur Mount a waiver of the usual minimum
sentencing consequences under the Graves Act, N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6. We affirm.
The Graves Act calls for a sentence of imprisonment with a mandatory
period of parole ineligibility for various firearm-related crimes. N.J.S.A. 2C:43-
6(c). The Act provides, in relevant part, that a defendant convicted of certain
enumerated firearms offenses must serve a minimum prison term of "one -half
of the sentence imposed by the court or 42 months, whichever is greater, . . .
during which the defendant shall be ineligible for parole." Ibid. The statute is
designed "to deter individuals from committing firearm-related crimes." State
v. Benjamin, 228 N.J. 358, 368 (2017); see also State v. Des Marets, 92 N.J. 62,
71 (1983).
Pertinent to the present case, the Graves Act contains an "escape valve"
provision allowing for relief in certain limited instances from the statute's
mandatory minimum sentence. State v. Alvarez, 246 N.J. Super. 137, 139 (App.
Div. 1991). The escape valve is intended to avoid circumstances where the harsh
sentencing consequences of the statute would not serve the interests of justice .
The provision reads:
On a motion by the prosecutor made to the
assignment judge that the imposition of a mandatory
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minimum term of imprisonment under [the Graves Act]
for a defendant who has not previously been convicted
of an offense under [the Graves Act], . . . does not serve
the interests of justice, the assignment judge shall place
the defendant on probation pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subsection b. of N.J.S.A. 2C:43-2 or reduce to one year
the mandatory minimum term of imprisonment during
which the defendant will be ineligible for parole. The
sentencing court may also refer a case of a defendant
who has not previously been convicted of an offense
under that subsection to the assignment judge, with the
approval of the prosecutor, if the sentencing court
believes that the interests of justice would not be served
by the imposition of a mandatory minimum.
[N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6.2 (emphasis added).]
A prosecutor's discretion to recommend a Graves Act waiver to the court
is guided by an Attorney General Directive. Attorney General Directive to
Ensure Uniform Enforcement of the "Graves Act" (Oct. 23, 2008, as corrected
Nov. 25, 2008). 1 The Directive requires prosecutors to "consider all relevant
circumstances concerning the offense conduct and the offender, including those
aggravating and mitigating circumstances set forth in N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1 [and]
the prosecutor may also take into account the likelihood of obtaining a
conviction at trial." Ibid. In deciding whether to move to authorize a lesser
sentence, the prosecutor must follow the Attorney General's Directive and, if a
1
The Directive is available at https://www.state.nj.us/lps/dcj/agguide/pdfs/
Graves-Act-Oct23-2008.pdf.
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defendant's request for such a motion is denied, provide a particularized
statement of reasons for the denial. Benjamin, 228 N.J. at 361.
Case law has established that defendants may seek judicial review of a
prosecutor's denial of a Graves Act waiver. Id. at 372; Alvarez, 246 N.J. Super.
at 137. In order to do so, a defendant may move before the assignment judge
for a hearing as to whether the prosecutor's rejection or refusal is "grossly
arbitrary or capricious or a patent abuse of discretion." Alvarez, 246 N.J. Super.
at 147; see also State v. Cengiz, 241 N.J. Super. 482, 497-98 (App. Div. 1990).
When evaluating the interests of justice standard, the court "must consider the
nature of and the relevant circumstances pertaining to the offense," including
"facts personal to the defendant," such as "the defendant's role in the incident to
determine the need to deter him from further crimes and the corresponding need
to protect the public from him." State v. Megargel, 143 N.J. 484, 500-01 (1996).
The facts in the present case arise out of a context in which defendant
obtained a gun and bullets after he and his family had been threatened with
violence by a known gang member. The gang member had an ongoing
disagreement with defendant. The gang member had apparently "pistol
whipped" defendant in the past, causing him to be hospitalized.
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The record reflects that on August 9, 2013, the gang member who had
beaten defendant arrived unexpectedly at defendant's house, accompanied by
two other men. Defendant's wife spoke with the men outside of the home. The
gang member told the wife he wanted to "fight the fair one" with defendant. The
wife saw two AK-47 assault rifles displayed in the men's car. She questioned
the men about the weapons, and they reportedly responded, "[w]e always have
to carry those." The wife called the Perth Amboy police to report what had
occurred, and the men fled the scene. Neither she nor defendant lodged a formal
complaint with the police against the men. Defendant did go to police
headquarters, but he did not provide them with any further information.
According to representations by defense counsel, at the time of the
incident, the gang leader was "on the street" pending an attempted murder charge
of another person.
About ten days later, the police received a report from a confidential
informant that defendant was carrying a nine-millimeter handgun in a fanny
pack. The police ran a warrant check on defendant, which revealed a pending
warrant from a different municipality involving a $350 unpaid sum.
Thereafter, while on patrol near defendant's residence, a Perth Amboy
police officer saw defendant, his wife, their daughter, and defendant's father in
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a car. Defendant's wife was driving, defendant was in the front passenger seat,
and the other two family members were in the rear. According to a
representation by defense counsel, the family had just picked up the daughter
from a "Sweet Sixteen" party. An officer saw defendant speaking with an
acquaintance who was standing by the car window. As the officers approached
the car, the acquaintance walked away.
At this point, the officers observed defendant moving in a furtive way that
gave them the impression he was attempting to conceal an item on the floor of
the car. They saw a fanny pack on the floor of the passenger side, and ordered
defendant out of the vehicle. The officers then arrested defendant on the
outstanding municipal warrant. They searched the fanny pack and found a nine-
millimeter handgun with a defaced serial number, as well as a magazine
containing eight hollow-point bullets. Defendant shouted, "[Y]ou know why
I'm carrying that, I have to protect my family."
In February 2014, a Middlesex County grand jury returned an indictment
charging defendant with second-degree unlawful possession of a weapon,
N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(b); second-degree possession of a weapon for unlawful
purposes, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-4(a); fourth-degree possession of a defaced firearm,
N.J.S.A. 2C:39-3(d); and fourth-degree possession of prohibited devices,
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N.J.S.A. 2C:39-3(f). The unlawful purpose charge was subsequently dismissed
for reasons not disclosed in the record.
On September 18, 2018, defendant's counsel requested the prosecutor's
office approve a Graves Act waiver. In making the request, defense counsel
stressed that defendant's criminal record only involved bad check offenses that
occurred in 2009, and that he had a clean record in the ensuing years.
The prosecutor's office rejected defendant's request for a waiver. It issued
a letter detailing its reasons for doing so, tracking the various factors in the
Attorney General's Directive. Among other things, the prosecutor's office
asserted that defendant had "shunn[ed] police assistance" to protect him and his
family from the gang-member threats, and instead had illegally obtained
firearms to take matters "into his own hands."
Defendant sought judicial review of the prosecutor's denial. The
application was delegated by the vicinage's Assignment Judge to the Presiding
Judge of the Criminal Part, Judge Michael A. Toto.
After considering the parties' submissions and oral argument, Judge Toto
ruled that the interests of justice in this particular case warranted a Graves Act
waiver, and overruled the prosecutor's opposition.
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The judge issued a detailed sixteen-page written opinion explaining why,
in this exceptional case, an override of the prosecutor's waiver denial was
justified. Among other things, the judge's opinion noted: (1) the State did not
adequately consider defendant's "compelling" reason to carry a handgun (i.e.,
duress); (2) defendant's limited criminal history; and (3) the reduced concerns
in this case for deterrence. Further, the judge assessed defendant's likelihood of
success at trial as "moderate." On the whole, the judge found the prosecutor's
decision was arbitrary, given the discrete circumstances presented.
That same day, defendant conditionally pled guilty to count one, second-
degree unlawful possession of a weapon, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-5(b); and count three,
fourth-degree prohibited devices, N.J.S.A. 2C:39-3(f). Consistent with the
Graves Act waiver, the court imposed a custodial sentence of three years with a
one-year stipulated period of parole ineligibility. The trial court stayed
defendant's sentence, pending the State's appeal to this court of the waiver
ruling.
This appeal by the State followed. In its brief, the State contends the trial
court underestimated the public safety considerations at stake in not imposing
the usual minimum punishment for gun possessory crimes in this case. The State
maintains the trial court's decision could foster vigilante behavior, and that
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defendant should have relied on the police to protect him and his family rather
than arming himself illegally.
Having considered the State's arguments in light of the record and the
applicable scope of review, we affirm the trial court's decision to grant
defendant's request for a Graves Act waiver. We do so substantially for the
reasons eloquently set forth in Judge Toto's June 28, 2019 written decision.
As Judge Toto aptly recognized, this is a rare instance in which a judicial
override of a prosecutor's Graves Act waiver denial is appropriate. The threat
of further violence against defendant and his family was not conjectural. The
gang member had already beaten defendant severely to a degree requiring
hospitalization, an assault followed by the menacing display of weaponry to
defendant's wife at the family residence. The family duly reported the threat to
the police. Their reluctance to lodge a formal complaint, presumably for fear of
sparking immediate retaliation, is not surprising. The circumstances strongly
suggest defendant acquired the gun and ammunition, albeit illegally, solely for
self-protection.
In affirming the trial court's decision in this particular exceptional case,
we by no means intend to promote vigilante behavior. As it is, defendant will
still serve at least a full year in prison as punishment for his conduct. We also
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do not believe the presiding judge, who undoubtedly has a wealth of day -to-day
experience with gun crimes, failed to accord sufficient respect to the county
prosecutor's discretion. The judge reasonably found the interests of justice in
this particular case called for a contrary result, and we doubt his decision, or our
affirmance of it, will produce long-term untoward effects.
Affirmed. The stay of defendant's sentence shall expire in thirty days.
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