BREAKING: Judge releases former student charged with having gun on campus

By Jake Tiger

A former Rider student charged with firearm possession on campus was released from police custody April 9 after a detention hearing in Mercer County Superior Court.

Jordan Greene, 20, of Florham Park, New Jersey, was arrested in connection to an incident that occurred in Olson Hall late at night on March 30, with a Lawrence Township Police Department report stating there was an argument in the doorway of a dorm room involving a personal relationship that led to the suspect drawing a gun from his pocket or waistband.

After turning himself into police custody on March 31, Lawrence Police charged Greene with weapon offenses that included possession of a firearm on the property of an educational institution, terroristic threats, aggravated assault and trespassing. 

During the detention hearing, Greene’s attorney argued that Greene did not have a gun during the incident, saying he had his hands in his pockets and had his phone to record the altercation in case something happened.

The state claimed one individual questioned by police said Greene made a Snapchat post of him with a gun in the Olson dorm before the incident, but also said the post could not be saved. The defense lawyer said Greene, in his statement to Lawrence Police, claimed there was no gun in the post, only “firearm emotions and filters.”

According to Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office Public Information Officer Casey DeBlasio, Mercer County Criminal Judge Sherry Wilson denied the state’s motion for pretrial detention and ordered Greene’s release with the following conditions: attend all court appearances; do not commit any new offenses; no possession of any firearm, weapon or destructive device; no excessive use of alcohol or any use of a narcotic drug without a prescription from a licensed medical practitioner; no return to Rider University; no contact with any Rider University employees; and no contact with the victim.

According to the police report from the incident, Rider served Greene a letter on Dec. 16, 2024 stating that he was not allowed on university property from Dec. 16, 2024 to Dec. 31, 2025. Rider External Affairs Vice President Kristine Brown said Greene was also withdrawn from the university on Dec. 16, 2024.

Greene had been held in Mercer County Corrections Center since his arrest.

Since New Jersey’s 2017 Bail Reform Act, the state no longer sets monetary bail, according to DeBlasio.

The case will be referred to a grand jury, according to DeBlasio.