Man With Handgun At Red Bank ER Indicted On Firearms Charges

TRENTON, NJ – A Tinton Falls man who showed up at a local emergency room with a gun in his waistband has been charged in a federal indictment with being a felon in possession of a firearm, among other gun charges, authorities said.

According to U.S. Attorney Philip R. Sellinger, Wesley Rucker, 36, Tinton Falls, is charged in an indictment with one count each of:

• Possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
• False impersonation of an officer of the United States.
• Possession of imitation federal law enforcement credentials.

Documents filed in this case and statements made in detailed the incident. According to federal authorities:

On Oct. 22, 2021, Rucker, a previously convicted felon, sought medical treatment in the emergency room of Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank.

While administering medical assistance, hospital staff observed a handgun in Rucker’s waistband.

Rucker told hospital staff, and later local police, that he was a federal law enforcement officer and displayed fraudulent credentials falsely identifying himself as an employee of the Drug Enforcement Administration, authorities said.

According to a Patch article at the time of his arrest, when hospital personnel observed the gun, Rucker was asked to store the gun in a locker in the hospital’s security office. Hospital personnel suspected Rucker might not be affiliated with the DEA and contacted the Red Bank Police Department.

When police officers confronted Rucker, he repeated his claim that he was a DEA agent and showed them the same identification.

In 2021, the then-34-year-old Rucker tried to leave the hospital without his gun as officers were investigating his claim. Police also found that Rucker was a previously convicted felon who had no prior affiliation with the DEA. Police then arrested him.

As a previously convicted felon, Rucker is not permitted to possess a firearm under federal law, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Rucker faces the following maximum penalties:

• The count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
• The count of false impersonation of an officer of the United States carries a maximum penalty of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
• The count of possession of imitation federal law enforcement credentials carries a maximum penalty of six months in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Sellinger credited special agents of the ATF, Newark Division, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Bryan Miller, with the investigation leading to the charges and arrest.

He also thanked the Red Bank Police Department for its assistance in the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian D. Brater of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division in Trenton. Defense counsel is Adam Axel, assistant Federal Public Defender, Trenton.