A Florida gun nut has been indicted in New Jersey for allegedly boarding an Amtrak train with a “small arsenal of weapons,” including a slew of ammunition, handguns, and a booby-trapped rifle, authorities said.
Jeffrey O. Kennerk of Fort Lauderdale was caught on a Virginia-bound Amtrak train with a slew of assault weapons, large-capacity ammunition magazines, handguns, and silencers, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin’s office announced.
“This defendant allegedly hauled a small arsenal of deadly weapons and ammunition through busy transit stations, and on a train filled with passengers,” Platkin said in a Wednesday statement.
Transit police in Newark-Penn Station noticed an unattended zebra-patterned bag on Jan. 3, and brought in a K-9 team to check for potential explosives. After the bag was cleared, officers found a case for a Glock handgun, according to the attorney general’s office.
Jeffrey O. Kennerk was caught on a train on Jan. 3 with assault weapons, large-capacity ammunition magazines, handguns, silencers, and a booby-trapped rifle that fired during his arrest at the Trenton Transit Center. Miami-Dade CorrectionsInside the case was a handgun with a loaded 18-round magazine, an AR-style magazine with rifle rounds, and a plastic bag containing a shirt and two boxes labeled 9mm bullets and four boxes of 0.223 caliber bullets, officials said.
In another small compartment of the bag was a pink duffle bag with an AK-47 style rifle with one round loaded in the chamber and multiple loaded magazines, the feds said.
After discovering the weaponry, law enforcement reviewed camera footage that revealed a man, allegedly Kennerk, carrying two suitcases, including the zebra-patterned one, the statement said.
“The subject walked away, allegedly, leaving behind the zebra print suitcase, and went to the Amtrak ticket window,” officials said.
It appeared Kennerk, 34, had purchased a ticket to board a Virginia-bound Amtrak train, where the next stop would be the Trenton Transit Center, authorities said.
Kennerk was intercepted by law enforcement as he arrived in Trenton.
Multiple other weapons were found on him during the arrest, including an “AR-15-style rifle that was separated into the lower and upper receiver, multiple caches of ammunition, multiple extended magazines, and multiple handguns,” authorities said.
While attempting to render a rifle safe, the gun discharged without the officer “engaging with the trigger,” indicating the firearm was “booby-trapped,” Platkin’s office said.
Authorities found “AR-15-style rifle that was separated into the lower and upper receiver, multiple caches of ammunition, multiple extended magazines, and multiple handguns” upon Kennerk’s arrest at the Trenton Transit Center. Matthew McDermottKennerk has been indicted on several charges, including aggravated assault, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, and causing or risking widespread injury or damage.
He was also charged with several fourth-degree crimes, including two counts of unlawful possession of a large-capacity ammunition magazine, one count each of unlawful possession of hollow nose ammunition, unlawful possession of a silencer, endangering another person, and causing or risking widespread injury or damage, according to the statement.
Kennerk faces additional charges for second-degree crimes including possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose, four counts of unlawful possession of a weapon, three counts of unlawful possession of an assault firearm, and other assault charges.
The second-degree charges carry sentences of five to 10 years in state prison and fines up to $150,000, while fourth-degree offenses carry sentences up to 18 months and fines up to $10,000, officials said.
“I am very proud of the NJ TRANSIT Police officers involved in this case,” NJ TRANSIT Police Chief Christopher Trucillo said in a statement. “The collective actions of law enforcement eliminated the possible carnage that could have been caused by the weapons involved in this case.”
Kennerk could not immediately be reached for comment.






