New York Criminal Lawyer Blog
New York State District Attorneys, especially in the five boroughs of New York City – Manhattan, Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and the Bronx, take arrests for illegally possessing firearms, aka, handguns and pistols, incredibly seriously. Whether in your waistband on the subway looking for trouble or in your hotel room on your visit from Georgia, California, Texas or even right next door in New Jersey, if the gun is loaded, or even in a hard side case with ammunition stored away with it, you will face a class “C” violent felony punishable by a mandatory minimum of three and one half years. In fact, even if that revolver or pistol is lawful elsewhere, a conviction for Penal Law 265.03, Second Degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, exposes that same first-time offender to up to fifteen years behind bars. If you’re lucky, and your gun has no ammunition in the immediate area, your crime is still a felony, but the lesser class “E” offense of Criminal Possession of a Firearm, Penal Law 265.01-b(1). With this all this in mind, Saland Law is pleased to share that days ago, a client who made a mistake of brining his gun to New York City before trying to do the right thing and report the weapon, avoided a felony, misdemeanor and any criminal record at all.
Saland Law’s client, an individual with no criminal history, visited New York City and inadvertently left his firearm in his bag that he took with him on the train to Manhattan. Complicating matters, the client had a conceal carry permit in his home state, but it expired days before. Technically, not only was his possession illegal in New York, but potentially at home too.
Despite the facts and evidence proving to be a difficult hurdle strictly from a legal standpoint, the client was initial unaware that he possessed the firearm. When he did learn that he possessed it, he immediately made an effort to report his possession to police officers who happened to be on the train. These officers from outside New York State, simply told our client to advise the MTA police upon his arrival in New York. What did our client do? Just that. What happened? He was arrested.
Though initially charged with this violent felony mandating incarceration, this case exemplified that just because prosecutors could indict our client did not mean they should (or would). Proffering with the District Attorney’s Office, aka, coming in for a “Queen for a Day”, prosecutors asked, and our client answered, questions about how it came to be he had the firearm, why the license lapsed, what he did with it upon recognizing he had the gun, when was the last time he possessed the firearm in that bag or at all, whether he travelled with the gun in the past, and far more detailed questions. Answering them honestly, I made it clear: if prosecutors believed saddling this man with a criminal record of any kind was justice, then the message they would be sending to people who made mistakes in the future might be to consider discarding a firearm or ammunition in a far more dangerous way, thereby exposing other people to potential violence if the gun accidentally discharged or found its way into a wrongdoer’s hands. Again, setting aside establishing that he knowingly possessed this weapon, even if you can prosecute this crime did not mean you should.
Though the back and forth was far more involved than this brief entry, prosecutors saw the big picture and offered our client a non-criminal violation of Disorderly Conduct, New York Penal Law 240.20. The matter was set to seal in thirty days as well.
Saland Law regularly handles firearm cases in the New York City area. From people honestly checking and declaring guns at either JFK or LaGuardia Airports in Queens, and visiting Manhattan and leaving the gun out accidently on the bed or nightstand only to have a cleaning person report it to the NYPD, to people driving through Brooklyn and being stopped in their vehicle for a gun that they may lawfully own outside New York or had no idea was in the car in the first place, Saland Law has successfully advocated for clients. Whether a mistake, a lack of knowledge about the law, or simply being wrongfully accused of possessing a firearm based on a legal presumption, Saland Law has addressed all of these situations.
Fortunately for this particular client, while we could not get the matter dismissed, the District Attorney’s Office was reasoned and fair, and undoubtedly our client learned a valuable lesson as he had the good fortunate to walk away from a felony and prison with no criminal record at all.
To learn more about New York’s two most common felony firearm crimes – Fourth Degree Criminal Possession of a Weapon, Penal Law 265.03, and Criminal Possession of a Firearm, Penal Law 265.01-b(1), click through the highlighted links. Saland Law is a criminal defense firm founded by Jeremy Saland, a former Manhattan prosecutor.