Cape man found with gun on bus will stay jailed

A Middle Township man found with a gun cocked and loaded on bus in Wildwood will stay in jail.

Devante Harris, 30, wouldn't wake up and appeared under the influence of drugs when a bus driver called police to the New Jersey Transit Center on Monday.

Police found him not only in possession of drugs, but with an Amadeo Rossi .38-caliber revolver loaded with hollow-point bullets with the hammer back ready to fire, according to the charges.

It was the gun's precarious position that convinced the judge to keep Harris jailed.

The lifelong Cape May County resident had gotten his life together after serving a six-year sentence for a robbery when he was 19, defense attorney Erika Appenzeller said. He was also working two jobs.

She pointed to a drug relapse for Harris' current issues.

Judge William Miller said he does believe there may have been a drug issue, and acknowledged that Harris may have been working hard, but that the community has a right to be protected.

"Sometimes the draw is so strong back to the underworld with the drugs and the weapons, it's hard to resist," Miller noted.

Harris faces 10 charges, including certain person not to possess a weapon, stemming from his robbery conviction.

There was no weapon used in the prior offense, Appenzeller said.

Harris will now remain jailed pending the outcome of his case.