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2 of 3 defendants in tunnel gun cache case to avoid trial

In this combination of three June 2016 file photos provided by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Dean Smith, left, Kimberly Arendt and John Cramsey are shown. Assistant Hudson County Prosecutor Tom Zuppa said Wednesday, June 14, 2017 that Smith and Arendt who were arrested in 2016 with Cramsey outside the Holland Tunnel in New Jersey in a pickup truck with a cache of weapons have struck a deal to avoid trial. Cramsey, an anti-drug activist whose daughter died of a drug overdose in 2016, had already rejected a plea deal. (Port Authority of New york and New Jersey via AP) In this combination of three June 2016 file photos provided by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Dean Smith, left, Kimberly Arendt and John Cramsey are shown. Assistant Hudson County Prosecutor Tom Zuppa said Wednesday, June 14, 2017 that Smith and Arendt who were arrested in 2016 with Cramsey outside the Holland Tunnel in New Jersey in a pickup truck with a cache of weapons have struck a deal to avoid trial. Cramsey, an anti-drug activist whose daughter died of a drug overdose in 2016, had already rejected a plea deal. (Port Authority of New york and New Jersey via AP)

By Associated Press June 14, 2017 3 min read

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) – Two of three Pennsylvania residents arrested last summer about to enter New York in a pickup truck with a cache of weapons, allegedly on a trip to rescue a teenager from a drug den, have struck a deal to avoid trial.

The development was divulged during a court hearing Wednesday for the third defendant, John Cramsey, an anti-drug activist whose daughter died of a drug overdose last year.

Kimberly Arendt, of Lehighton, and Dean Smith, of Whitehall, were arrested with Cramsey last June after police pulled them over as they approached the Holland Tunnel. Police recovered weapons including a semi-automatic military-style rifle, a shotgun and five handguns, along with other tactical gear.

Assistant Hudson County Prosecutor Tom Zuppa said Wednesday that Smith and Arendt have been accepted into a pretrial intervention program, which is a probationary program that, if completed successfully, can lead to charges being dropped.

Cramsey, of East Greenville, has already rejected a plea deal that would have sent him to prison for at least 3½ years. He was previously rejected for pretrial intervention by the Hudson County prosecutor’s office, but his attorney, James Lisa, said Wednesday he would reapply based on the decision regarding Arendt and Smith.