New Britain Township Police. Photo by James Short.
The defendant's truck was stopped due to counterfeit North Carolina registration.
A Philadelphia woman prohibited from possessing a firearm due to convictions for DUI and drug possession has been accused of illegally having a rifle in the backseat of the car she was driving, which had a counterfeit North Carolina registration.
Laura Michelle Slane, 37, of the 400 block of Shurs Lane, was charged Sunday by New Britain Township Police with felony illegal possession of a firearm, misdemeanor possession of a counterfeit vehicle registration, and summary offenses of driving with a suspended license, driving an unregistered vehicle, and driving with a suspended registration, according to court documents.
On Sunday at 3:45 p.m., police were on patrol in the area of West Butler Avenue near Schoolhouse Road, and saw a black 2018 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup with a temporary North Carolina registration with an August 2024 expiration date, according to an affidavit. Police followed the truck as it turned onto Schoolhouse Road from West Butler Pike and then again onto Manor Drive, before being pulled over in the parking lot of CHOP Urgent Care, police said.
Upon approach the driver’s side, police found Slane behind the wheel, and presented a Pennsylvania ID card instead of a license, police said. She told police she had no registration, as the car was purchased in North Carolina and she was trying to get it registered in Pennsylvania, per the complaint.
Slane told police she had a firearm – a black RF-15 rifle – belonging to her inside the truck, police said. A run of Slane’s information revealed a suspended license, per the complaint.
Authorities were unable to locate the VIN of the pickup truck; underneath a temporary registration plate, police found a laminated piece of paper with “JEN6675” written on it along with “North Carolina,” police said. The sequence returned information on Slane’s vehicle, including that it was registered to her since May 2021, with an active revocation for an insurance stop, police said.
Police said the registration was counterfeit. Slane told authorities she purchased the car in 2021, moved to Pennsylvania, realized the registration was revoked and then drove back to North Carolina, where a friend who works at a car dealership gave her a temporary registration affixed to the car, per the affidavit.
Slane did not have a valid concealed carry permit for the rifle and told police she was never arrested previously, per the complaint. Investigators seized the registration, allowed Slane to leave, and impounded the truck, police said.
Slane had four prior convictions out of Florida, including a DUI and three for possession of marijuana, police said. A Bucks County Assistant District Attorney told police that Slane was not allowed to possess a firearm, according to the affidavit.
Slane is free on $5,000 unsecured bail, according to court records. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 21 at 1:45 p.m. before Magisterial District Judge Regina Armitage.
All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using public court records.
