Yeah I don't think they were dealing either. 3 blunts, 3 dudes in the car. The gun was most likely for protection given the neighborhood they were rolling in, and as Oly opined, it is not illegal to possess an unregistered gun. It is also not illegal to have it in your vehicle as long as it is not concealed.
To be clear on where I am coming from in this new thread, I believe PJ was treated differently than the other two guys in the vehicle because he is star player for UNC. Thus I am totally with the mom of the other kid in that the situation did not end fairly. Had Falcoune been driving and PJ a passenger, maybe it would make a little more sense. Can't say for sure. I just feel the Falcoune kid got a raw deal even though his penalty was relatively light. The bigger impact is it goes on his record and follows him through life while PJ's record remains clean.