Longtime Millville educator arrested for antique gun

BRIDGETON – A longtime Millville High School teacher facing a 10-year prison sentence for possession of an antique gun has started an online funding campaign to help pay for his legal costs.

Gordon N. Van Gilder, who taught at Millville Senior High School for 34 years, is facing a felony conviction and a decade behind bars following a November arrest by the Cumberland County Sheriff's Department in which officers found an unloaded antique gun inside a vehicle Van Gilder sat in, according to Eatontown attorney Evan Nappen.

If convicted of the 2nd-degree felony unlawful possession of a handgun charge, Van Gilder could serve a maximum of 10 years in prison, which could mean life for the 72-year-old, Nappen said.

The charge also carries a minimum 3.5 year sentence and may jeopardize his public school pension, his right to vote and his reputation in the community, Nappen said.

"It's a very severe charge," Nappen said Wednesday. "This is ridiculous, he could lose his pension."

At issue is a Nov. 20 incident in which Van Gilder and a friend were pulled over by Sheriff's Officers for an alleged traffic violation in Millville.

SHERIFF SAYS VAN GILDER WAS TRYING TO BUY DRUGS:

Officers at the scene requested a search of the vehicle, Nappen said, and were told by Van Gilder that he had in the glove compartment a 300-year-old "Queen Anne" flintlock pistol wrapped in cloth.

Van Gilder is a history buff and avid collector of 18th century memorabilia, Nappen said.

But in New Jersey, an antique weapon is considered the same as a newer weapon, according to Nappen, who has written four books on gun laws in the state and has represented defendants in high-profile weapons cases.

"Unfortunately, New Jersey, by law, treats antiques the same as modern guns," Nappen said. "It's the same as if he had a loaded .50 caliber Desert Eagle on his person. New Jersey makes no distinction."

At the scene of the traffic stop, Nappen said officers threatened Van Gilder and his driver as they sat in the car and were overly aggressive in their request for search consent.

"He was being yelled at, threatened with dogs if they didn't consent to search," Nappen said.

One sheriff's officer at the scene, who Van Gilder identified as Joshua Sheppard, allegedly advised Cumberland County Sheriff Robert Austino to let Van Gilder go, downplaying the danger of the antique weapon, Nappen said.

"Someone there had some common sense and said, 'Look, we shouldn't charge him for this, and one of the higher-ups said no,'" Nappen said.

What happened next, according to Nappen, was that the sheriff's department let the two go but returned to Van Gilder's Port Elizabeth home that next morning on Nov. 21 and arrested Van Gilder.

"They seized the gun and later came back to his house with three sheriff's guards, put him in cuffs, brought him to the station and chained him to a bench," Nappen said.

He was charged with second degree unlawful possession of a handgun, according to Nappen.

A copy of the sheriff's department complaint filed by Sheppard against Van Gilder states, "(Van Gilder) did knowingly and/or purposely have in his possession a weapon, specifically a 'flint gun' without having proper paper work on his person and improperly stored in a motor vehicle."

Van Gilder hired Nappen in December to help fight the charge.

Nappen said the case is currently being handled by assistant prosecutor Sarah Slachetka at the Cumberland County Prosecutor's Office, who was not immediately available for comment Wednesday.

Nappen said the office has ordered a ballistics test, which he said could take several months, and an indictment could then be returned against Van Gilder.

"He really shouldn't have been charged; you'd think there would be discretion," Nappen said. "He has no priors, there's nothing like that here. There was nothing aggravating about this, no aggravating factor whatsoever."

When asked to comment, Austino deferred to the pending court case but alluded to there being more to the incident.

"It's a pending case and there's more to the story than what he's saying," Austino said.

As of Wednesday afternoon, Van Gilder has raised $4,941 of a $25,000 goal through a Go Get Funding page, and 164 people have pledged to be "backers."

The incident has begun to gather national attention, with the National Rifile Association producing a video report on the case.

For Nappen, the Van Gilder case is only the latest high profile weapons case.

He also represented Philadelphia resident Shaneen Allen, who was arrested during a 2013 traffic stop on the Atlantic City Expressway and charged with both illegal possession of a firearm and possession of hollow-point ammunition after she disclosed to a state trooper that she had a weapon and a concealed carry permit with her in her car.

A private citizen is allowed to own a gun in Pennsylvania but it is illegal in New Jersey to carry concealed weapons, even if they are legally registered.

Allen was jailed for 46 days following her arrest and faced up to five years in jail before widespread criticism caught up with Atlantic County Prosecutor Jim McClain, who in September granted Allen a reprieve.

Allen was allowed into pre-trial intervention in September after the state attorney general shifted the prosecutor's stance, canceling a planned October trial.

"That was another case showing the inflexibility of New Jersey firearm laws," Nappen said. "That case dramatically affected her. Luckily, we were able to have the Attorney General change guidelines in the state for non-residents."

Nappen said the ruling in the Allen case also helped 100 other defendants in similar cases.

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