Crime & Safety

Former Raritan Man Found Guilty of Weapons Charges

William Joyce, of Pennsylvania, has been found guilty on weapons charges after receiving guns from a man charged in a residential burglary in Bridgewater.

A Pennsylvania, and former Raritan Borough, resident was found guilty Tuesday of several weapons charges in connection with an incident in which he received one shotgun and one handgun from a man who had been charged in a residential burglary in Bridgewater in 2009.

According to Somerset County Prosecutor Geoffrey Soriano, William Joyce, 21, was charged with unlawful possession of a handgun, underage possession of a handgun and unlawful possession of a shotgun. A mistrial was declared with respect to charges of two counts of receiving stolen property after a jury could not reach a unanimous verdict.

According to Soriano, Joyce and his girlfriend Stacey Wooden were arrested in March 2009 after the Raritan Borough Police Department and the Somerset County Gangs and Guns Task Force learned that they had knowingly received a handgun and a shotgun from Ronald Elizondo, who had been charged with the burglary of a residence in Bridgewater.

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An anonymous call to Raritan police after Elizondo's arrest, Soriano said, led them to the location of the handgun. Soriano said Joyce had placed the handgun in a plastic bag and thrown it from Frelinghuysen Avenue into the lot of the Super 8 Motel in Raritan.

Later investigation, Soriano said, found that Wooden had called the Super 8 Motel with the anonymous tip, then she placed the shotgun with her baby in a stroller and brought it to Frelinguysen Park in Raritan, dumping the shotgun and ammunition near a play set.

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Soriano said Wooden then called Raritan Police and said she found the shotgun and saw a black vehicle with tinted windows driving away from the area.

Joyce, Soriano said, faces a sentence of up to 15 years in jail, with eight years without parole. Soriano said Wooden's trial date is scheduled for March 14.


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