“I definitely did not know it was illegal to bring a gun into New York City,” he said.

The case came to light in January as part of what appeared to be a spate of people with permits to carry weapons in other states being arrested on weapon-possession charges in the city. While some states accept carry permits from elsewhere, New York does not.

Photo

Meredith Graves, a nurse from Tennessee, was arrested in December after she tried to check her .32-caliber pistol at the National September 11 Memorial. She pleaded guilty on Monday to a misdemeanor weapons-possession charge, but was not fined or required to perform community service.

Mark J. Meckler, a Tea Party leader, was arrested at La Guardia Airport that same month after he presented a locked gun box to a Delta Air Lines ticketing agent. Mr. Meckler, who had a permit to carry his gun in California, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, a violation.

Mr. Jerome’s military background fueled those outraged over his arrest. He and his lawyer, Mark A. Bederow, released a photo of Mr. Jerome in his Marine uniform and wrote a letter to the district attorney’s office citing his military service as a primary reason to dismiss the charges.

Newsletter Sign Up Continue reading the main story Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up You will receive emails containing news content , updates and promotions from The New York Times. You may opt-out at any time. You agree to receive occasional updates and special offers for The New York Times's products and services. Thank you for subscribing. An error has occurred. Please try again later. View all New York Times newsletters.

In response, the district attorney’s office filed a letter with the court showing that Mr. Jerome had been a Marine for less than a year before facing an “other than honorable” discharge. The letter quoted an October 2003 memorandum from Mr. Jerome’s commanding officer saying he had disappeared for a month and admitted to using marijuana.

Mr. Jerome and his lawyer have said Mr. Jerome was pushed out of the military after reporting a severe hazing episode. They declined to discuss his military record on Tuesday.

Mr. Bederow also argued that the case should have been dismissed because his client did not intend to violate the law, but the district attorney’s office said criminal intent was not a requirement for being found in violation of the state’s weapons-possession laws.

Mr. Jerome opened a jewelry store in South Bend, Ind., the week before he and his girlfriend drove to New York to sight-see and meet with a gold refiner on Long Island. He has since opened a second store in the Detroit area, and he said he hoped to maintain his permit to carry a concealed weapon in Indiana.