Illegal Gun Sale, Burglary Result in 4 Arrests, Police Say

An illegal handgun sale touched off a burglary and a slew of arrests in a bizarre chain of events Saturday, Manchester Township Police said.

Officers were called out to a home on Northampton Boulevard around 2:17 p.m. after Nicholas Graff, 20, of Manchester, kicked in the front door, police said, when he and Frederick Johnson 4th, of Pine Lake Park, came back to the home after buying a gun from a resident there.

The burglary victim, Anthony Moriarty, 19, identified Graff and Johnson, who had already run off, police said, and officers went to Graff’s home on Gladstone Street to arrest him.

But Graff’s mother, Diane Graff, attempted to prevent those officers from getting to her son, who was eventually found in the home’s attic and was arrested on multiple, unrelated warrants.

The gun Moriarty had earlier illegally sold to Nicholas Graff and Johnson turned out to be a broken .380-caliber revolver, police said, and the sale alone resulted in multiple charges.

Officers eventually charged everyone involved with at least one crime:

• Nicholas Graff was charged with unlawful possession of a handgun, criminal attempt burglary and criminal mischief. 
• Moriarty was charged with unlawful possession of a handgun and unauthorized sale of a weapon.
• Johnson was charged with unlawful possession of a handgun and possession of drug paraphernalia.
• Diane Graff was charged with hindering the apprehension of another.

Nicholas Graff, Johnson and Moriarty were all taken to the Ocean County Jail in lieu of $75,000 full cash bail, while Diane Graff was released on a court summons.

Officer Anthony Iliadis and Detective Christopher Hemhauser handled the case.