A free-agent NFL linebacker has admitted to three criminal offenses connected to a December 2014 domestic incident that took place in Summit, acting Union County Prosecutor Grace H. Park announced Wednesday.
Jermaine Cunningham, 26, pleaded guilty Wednesday before state Superior Court Judge William Daniel to single counts of third-degree invasion of privacy, fourth-degree illegal transport of a weapon, and fourth-degree possession of hollow-point bullets.
On Monday, December 29, 2014, Summit Police Department officers were called to a home on Lafayette Avenue by Cunningham’s estranged girlfriend on a report of a domestic dispute, according to Union County Prosecutor’s Office Domestic Violence Unit Supervisor Andrew Olesnycky, who prosecuted the case.
A Walther PK 380 handgun and hollow-point bullets subsequently were found in Cunningham’s Audi sedan, Olesnycky said.
After further joint investigation by the Summit Police Department and the Union County Prosecutor’s Office, it was revealed that Cunningham, a former collegiate national champion in football who was a 2010 second-round NFL draft pick and most recently played for the New York Jets, also had posted a sexually explicit image of his estranged girlfriend on Instagram earlier without her consent.
The investigation also revealed that while the recovered handgun was legally owned and registered to Cunningham, he illegally transported it to New Jersey when he had his vehicle transported here from Georgia last April. Cunningham, who has no prior criminal history in New Jersey, is scheduled to be sentenced on June 19 before state Superior Court Judge Robert J. Mega, at which time he is expected to receive a term of probation.
As a result of his plea he also will be required to forfeit the firearm that was recovered from his vehicle.