Weekend Gun Buyback Nets More than 200 Weapons

A citywide gun buyback program held this past weekend yielded more than 200 weapons, including more than 100 handguns, the type of firearm most often used in criminal activity, Newark police announced during a press conference Tuesday.

“This weekend marked one of the proudest moments of my career,” said Jessica Mindich, founder of Jewelry for a Cause, which provided $33,000 to purchase the 210 weapons turned in for cash Saturday and Sunday. The city paid up to $250 per firearm.

Jewelry for a Cause melts down the weapons and repurposes them as bracelets and other baubles, which are then sold to finance additional buybacks. The business will contribute nearly $30,000 to finance another Newark buyback at the end of the summer, Mindich said.

This weekend’s effort was the first buyback in the city’s history completely funded through private sources, said Samuel DeMaio, director of the Newark Police Department.

There have been a spate of buybacks in New Jersey lately, especially since the Newtown massacre in December. The state Attorney General’s office sponsored one throughout Essex County in February that netted more than 1,700 weapons, the highest total ever in the county’s history.

Officials Tuesday were encouraged by the fact that despite the previous round of buybacks, this past weekend’s event still resulted in hundreds of guns being taken off the street. Among the weapons recovered were 117 handguns and eight assault rifles.

DeMaio, who admitted he was once skeptical about the efficacy of buybacks, was particularly pleased with the weekend’s take, including the assault rifles, which are often mishandled by criminals.

“These are the weapons we really enjoy seeing off the street,” he said.

Jewelry for a Cause now works exclusively with the city of Newark but there are plans to bring the concept to other cities, Mindich also said.