I was charged with possession of a firearm while intoxicated (that's exactly how it reads on my charge sheet). OK, so I was in possession of a firearm, UN-concealed, legal, with permission BUT I was NOT intoxicated. No sobriety test whatsoever was done. So is this charge bogus? I am getting a lawyer on Monday but curiosity is just killing me right now.

If the firearm was sitting on the seat beside you UNconcealed, and depending gon what type of firearm it was, I can see why the officer was suspicious. AND I guess he smelled liquor on your person and that was additional cause for alarm.

Not knowing the circumstances, and not being there to observe, passmeby, it is kind of hard to judge the circumstances to give you any indication if the charge was bogus or not, but as you explain it, the firearm was not yours, you say 'with permission', (just what was your purpose in having a firearm exposed) that in itself is not good at all.

Tick

The gun was in my hands. I can understand the gun charges but the intox charges are what's bugging me. I was not intoxicated, period, and no sobriety test was done. So how could I possibly be charged with intox? I had just got off work, I work in a bar, and I have a liquor license that mandates that I cannot drink at work. So perhaps I did smell of alcohol due to the nature of my work but still, to be charged with being intoxicated with no proof of such makes no sense to me.

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Originally Posted by passmeby

I was not intoxicated, period, and no sobriety test was done. So how could I possibly be charged with intox??

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Hello again, pass:

Yeah, some cops ain't too bright.. Maybe it's all that sugar in the doughnuts... I don't know. But, being CHARGED ain't no big deal. It's when they CONVICT you that you got to start worrying.

From what you say, they're going to have a hard time doing that.

excon

Hi, excon, I was waiting to hear your take on the gun (especially the gun being in his hands yet) and not belonging to the OP... and...

Tick

Hello tick:

The question really depends on which state the OP lives in.

In the west, having a gun in your possession, even if it doesn't belong to you, ain't no big deal. I'd NEVER have it in my hands when being approached by the police, though.

Pass was lucky they didn't shoot first.

excon

Thanks for the answers. So, excon, here is what my charge reads word for word: "Carrying firearm while under the influence ~ 21 O.S. (section) 1289.9 a" Misdemeanor.

So if I wasn't proven to be under the influence, does this mean that the whole thing can be thrown out, as it seems to be one single charge and not 2 separate charges (one for the gun and one for intox)??

Well, I didn't know the police were coming!! I was just sitting there and they busted through the door! The gun was in my hands because someone had stolen it out of my bag when I went to the bathroom, I went through their house and found it and wasn't letting it go until my ride came to get me! Probably better that it was unconcealed at that point.

BTW, I'm a girl!

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Originally Posted by passmeby

So if I wasn't proven to be under the influence, does this mean that the whole thing can be thrown out???

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Hello again, pass:

I'd be willing to bet on it.

excon

Not to ake you nervous, but... I'd be concerned that if/when this gets to court the cop could claim that you were obviously, visibly intoxicated,and hence a sobriety test wasn't needed. He could say you couldn't stand up straight, had slurred speech, etc etc. So, do you have any witnesses who would be able to testify that you were not intoxicated? Form the description of why you had the gun out -- I would assume that there weren't too many people there who would be on your side, right?

Yeah, the 2 witnesses there would definitely not be on my side! All I really have is proof that I had just come from work, where I can't drink. I also called my husband as soon as I realized the gun was missing, I don't know if he could testify to the fact that I was perfectly coherent.

I did get a lawyer today but have to wait a while for him to gather all the reports and sttements and go over this with me. He did say that a sobriety test wasn't necessary in this case in order to prove intoxication. Basically possessing the gun is like nothing, but the accusation of being intoxicated while possessing it is the bulk of the charge. Which is why I am just astounded that a sobriety test does not come into play here.

This isn't off topic and I have to to say that in the greater Toronto area, driving a car and displaying a gun is so not cool. We don't know where the dilinquents are getting guns to 'drive by and shoot'. They figure they are coming across the border to sell them and go back. There are young people dying up here from drive by shooters who have no regard for human life. I am not kidding.

So, your story, pass, is so alien to me. You can actually possess a gun and that is that.

Tick

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Originally Posted by passmeby

I did get a lawyer today but have to wait a while for him to gather all the reports and sttements and go over this with me. He did say that a sobriety test wasn't necessary in this case in order to prove intoxication.

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Hello again, pass:

In the law, there are no guarantees. I didn't say that you'll be found not guilty, and your lawyer didn't say that you would...

I don't disagree with him either, in that I don't think the fact that they DIDN'T test you, is an automatic pass. As another poster said, there are other ways that intoxication can be proved...

However, I will say, that in the ABSENCE of ANY corroborating evidence that you were drunk, and you say you weren't, the fact that there WASN'T a test carries a lot more weight. I'll reiterate what I said before. I'll betcha you beat the charge.

excon

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Originally Posted by ;

Well, I didn't know the police were coming!!! I was just sitting there and they busted thru the door!! The gun was in my hands because someone had stolen it out of my bag when I went to the bathroom, I went thru their house and found it and wasn't letting it go untill my ride came to get me!! Probably better that it was unconcealed at that point.

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Excon as you say beat the charge did anyone here ask or say who and why was the officer there in the first place. A big part of the story is missing here.

Did an officer just pop up out of know where and busted the door down?

There seems to be a lot more here that's obviously not being told.

Who's house a friend? Who called the police? The gun was stolen out of a bag and was somehow found laying around in the house? Who's house the op or someone else's? How was it so easily found after it was stolen out of the bag?

A lot missing here that may be thicker than we know.

Hello again:

I'm not here to solve the crime. I'm here to give my OP advice.

excon

The whole story... I carried the gun because I had a guy (a bad kind of guy! ) sort of stalking me, and since I work in a bar I go home around 2 AM many nights. I live in a rural area, there's nowhere to pull over, as in a police station or public place that's open at that hour. So that explains why I possessed the gun that day in the first place. Moving right along... some (well, former friends now) friends called my work to see if I was there, they wanted to come by and drink, so they did for a bit. Closing time came around and they asked me if I wanted to go chill for a while at one of their houses, so I did. No one besides me knew the gun was in my purse, I'm not stupid, I'm not going to tell a soul about that! Anyway, I got up to go to the bathroom and when I got back I moved my purse to sit back down and noticed it was quite a bit lighter than it was before. I immediately opened it and saw that the gun was missing. I confronted both "friends" that were present... both denied any knowledge of anything. Well, I wasn't accepting that answer so first thing I did was call my husband. I think they got scared at that point. I went directly to the main suspects room and rifled through everything until I found it, sitting on a closet shelf. At that point, the thief got REALLY scared and ran off. I was just planning on leaving, waiting on a ride, little did I know he was in the bushes somewhere calling the cops.

Now I know, I could have called the cops first and they would be the ones in big trouble for stealing a gun, but I would probably be in trouble too for possessing it in the first place (it's a SMALL town, the cops jump on every opportunity they get!! ). Besides, I'm not the "cop calling" type. I like to handle things myself and I don't like cops anyway. Like I said, I didn't know he was calling the cops out there in the bushes somewhere. Yes, they did bust through the front door, yes, I almost got shot, blah, blah blah... but that's the whole story.

As far as the accusation of intox goes, I'm assuming it was partly because the 2 witnesses were drinking so the police probably assumed I was too. I still don't have the witness reports, so I don't know for sure what they said. Maybe they said that we had come from a bar (which technically we did)... which would cause one to assume drinking was going on, even though I was the bar employee and NOT allowed (nor do I) to drink at work. There was also 2 beer cans on the coffee table, one belonging to each witness... though the one witness had fled so possibly the police assumed one beer was mine. When the police came in, me and the one other witness that didn't run off like a little girl were sitting on the couch together, I was simply waiting on a ride.

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Originally Posted by 21boat

Excon as you say beat the charge did anyone here ask or say who and why was the officer there in the first place. A big part of the story is missing here.

Did an officer just pop up out of know where and busted the door down?

There seems to be a lot more here thats obviously not being told.

Who's house a friend? Who called the police? The gun was stolen out of a bag and was somehow found laying around in the house? Who's house the op or someone else's? How was it so easily found after it was stolen out of the bag?

A lot missing here that may be thicker than we know.

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I don't see that this has any bearing on the charges - fascinating, perhaps, but has no impact on the charges.

[QUOTE=passmeby agrees: Exactly....but the tone of that post made me feel like I had to respond with the full story. I don't like being called a liar in so many words....[/QUOTE]


I understand. This probably should be moved to the legal boards where people who are trained/work in the legal profession/do great research hang out and know what is necessary and what is not.

Would that work for you?

Yeah, when I first posted this I didn't see the "Criminal Law" section. So, anyone who has the power, you may move this thread if you see fit!

I've never been arrested before so any and all input is welcome, not just necessarily advice strictly related to my charge. Input on the court process, what to do/say... ANYTHING, is more than welcome and APPRECIATED!!