Timothy Kurkierewicz was just giving a young couple a ride to a casino last week his attorney said.
But after Atlantic City police pulled the Pennsylvania man's car over, they allegedly found guns and the makings of a meth lab.
Kurkierewicz and his girlfriend, Colleen Coffin, both 41, didn't know anything about what Timothy Collins and Juliya Hess brought into the car, their attorneys said Wednesday, during separate detention hearings.
Hess' attorney, Robert Johnson, said nothing ties her to the illegal haul either.
The four have been jailed since Thursday, when Officer Aaron Jones stopped the car after allegedly seeing a drug transaction in the 1500 block of Atlantic Avenue.
Inside the car, he found a .22-caliber rifle, a handgun, 17 grams of methamphetamine, a small amount of heroin and a bag with items used to cook, produce and store meth, according to the police report.
Their charges include maintaining a drug-production facility.
But Kurkierewicz's attorney, Yvonne Maher, called that charge "somewhat overblown... considering what was found."
"There's no indication they were producing methamphetamine in this vehicle," she told the judge.
Judge John Rauh decided to release Kurkierewicz, Hess and Coffin with conditions on Wednesday.
Collins' detention hearing was postponed, so he will remain in the Atlantic County Justice Facility.
Rauh said that as the driver, Kurkierewicz bore some responsibility.
"He created some of this mess," the judge said. "He's behind the wheel of the car."
But he said there was nothing in Kurkierewicz's record that would indicate he would not appear in court if released.
