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Antidrug activist pleads guilty to weapons charges
John Cramsey was on his way to New York to rescue a girl when he was arrested on weapons charges. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
By DAVID PORTER
Associated Press

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — A Pennsylvania man arrested last year outside New York with a vehicle full of weapons on a self-described mission to rescue a teenager from a drug den pleaded guilty Monday to weapons charges, but he said he would continue his battle against the scourge of drug addiction.

John Cramsey and two associates were arrested on the New Jersey side of the Holland Tunnel in June 2016. He told authorities they were going to rescue the girl. She died months later of an overdose.

Acquaintances said the gun range owner became an antidrug crusader after his daughter died of an overdose last year. Cramsey posted online shortly before his arrest that he was heading to New York to rescue a girl whose friend had overdosed.

Police recovered a ­semi- automatic rifle, a shotgun, five handguns, and tactical gear.

Asked after Monday’s hearing if he would do what he did again, Cramsey, 52, said he would but would be more careful.

‘‘I would have carried her out if I’d had the chance,’’ he said. ‘‘I still would to this day. If I’d had to leave my truck there and run to get that girl, I would have.’’

Cramsey pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of a gun and possession for an unlawful purpose. Each count carries a maximum sentence of five years with no parole for a year, but under Cramsey’s plea deal his lawyer can apply for a probationary sentence that wouldn’t include prison.

Dean Smith of Whitehall, Pa., and Kimberly Arendt of Lehighton, Pa., were accepted this year into a pretrial intervention program. If completed, the probationary program can lead to charges being dropped.

ASSOCIATED PRESS