TRENTON, N.J. – A Monmouth County man will have his initial appearance today for possessing a machine gun as a previously convicted felon, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.
Officials say Mr. Davon Harley, 30, of Neptune City, New Jersey, appeared by video conference this afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Zahid M. Quraishi and was detained without bail.
Harley was arrested by local authorities on Feb. 8, 2020, and charged with state offenses.
He is now charged by federal criminal complaint with one count of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and one count of possession of a machinegun.
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:
In February 2020 a Neptune City Police officer confronted Harley, a previously convicted felon, who was arguing with others in the yard of an apartment complex.
Harley fled through the apartment complex into neighboring properties and discarded a handgun that, upon inspection, had been altered to fire exclusively in fully automatic mode.
The weapon had a magazine capable of holding 31 rounds of ammunition.
Members of law enforcement, assisted by the Neptune Township and Asbury Park police departments located Harley and recovered the machine gun and the magazine that Harley had discarded.
The felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a machine gun charges each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.