To protect her family, 27-year-old Shaneen Allen of Philadelphia attended a gun safety course, applied for and received a concealed carry permit and purchased a gun.

A family member had advised the single mother of two to get her license. "I work two jobs and I work late and getting up at that time of night I got robbed twice last year and he felt the need for me to get my license to protect me and my kids,” Allen told MY9NJ.

While she had obtained a concealed carry permit and a gun lawfully, Allen made the mistake of traveling with the weapon into New Jersey. When police stopped her for a minor traffic offense, she informed the officer about the gun and her permit, unaware that the permit did not apply to New Jersey.
“The judge tried to tell me that telling the truth messed me up, my life up and the cop said the same thing. Me opening my mouth and speaking out he said I’m one out of ten people that spoke up and was honest and that got me in trouble,” she said.

Charged with unlawful possession of a weapon and possession of hollow-point bullets, Allen is now facing a second-degree felony, which is a mandatory minimum of three years in jail. She has no criminal record and had only owned the gun for a week, MY9NJ reported.

“We’re talking about a law-abiding, licensed person who did nothing wrong,” said Allen’s attorney Evan Nappen.

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(Photo: Courtesy of FOX My9NJ, New Jersey)