A weapons offense should be merged into a substantive criminal charge when the evidence tends to prove the weapon was possessed unlawfully only to commit the substantive offense and no broader unlawful purpose was supported directly or circumstantially, the New Jersey Supreme Court held Tuesday.
In State v. Tate, a manslaughter case, the court said trial judges should follow State v. Diaz, 144 N.J. 628 (1996), which held that when “the only unlawful purpose in possessing the [weapon] is to use it to commit the substantive offense, merger is required.”
